

For this purpose the membrane is attached to the gel and this so-called sandwich is transferred to an electrophoresis chamber. Blottingįollowing the separation of the protein mix the polypeptide bands are transferred to a membrane carrier. The choice of methods depends on the specific requirements of the experiment. The above-mentioned methods for gel electrophoresis of proteins can also be combined to separate proteins. The separation occurs due to the charge of the protein or by the number of basic- and acidic groups the protein contains. Hence, this method is used to separate proteins by their charges, as well as to determine the isoelectric point of a target protein. Due to an electric charge connected to the gel the protein travels to the point in the gel where the charge of the gel equals that of the protein, and the total charge equals zero, i.e. Special gradient gels are needed for isoelectric focusing as the pH changes from acidic to basic along a gradient within the gel. The isoelectric point is defined as the the point where the total charge of the molecule is zero, because there is an equal amount of negative and positive charges in the molecule. Depending on the pH the acidic and basic functional groups contribute by increasing or decreasing the total charge of the protein. This method builds on the fact that a protein has a specific charge at certain pH values. The applicability of the buffer depends on the isoelectric point and the charges of the protein. A suitable buffer is needed to maintain the 3D folding of the protein. The separation using native PAGE depends on a number of parameters such as the charge, size and 3D structure of the protein. This method can also detect different complexes of different proteins. Native PAGE can also be used to confirm biologically relevant conformations, like di-, tri-, or tetrameric forms of proteins (contrary to SDS-PAGE, which would separate the individual and denatured peptide chains).

phosphorylated versus unphosphorylated state of a protein). One example would be the separation of modified and unmodified proteins of the same kind (e.g. This method allows for the separation of proteins that are inaccessible by other methods. Native, unfolded, and not-denatured proteins can be separated using this method. Custom Recombinant Antibody (rAbs) Services.Annexin V-FITC Apoptosis Detection Kits.
