Gel Electrophoresis

Electrophoresis is a technique for the separation and analysis of protein or DNA molecules based on the migration of molecules under an electric field. In gel electrophoresis, a piece of porous matrix made of agarose or polyacrylamide serves as a sieving medium for loaded molecules. Protein or DNA molecules migrate at various speeds and stop at different locations in the gel according to their charge and size. After the electrophoresis, bands of the loaded protein or DNA molecules are visualized for analysis.

Fig 1. A Brief Illustration of Gel Electrophoresis Mechanism

Creative BioMart Nanocage offers three gel electrophoresis techniques for different characterization purposes.

Reducing and non-reducing SDS-PAGE

• Gel types: fixed gel and gradient gel.
• Applications: Purity determination and quantification of protein nanocage using densitometry.

Molecular weight determination of protein nanocage subunit.
Identification of protein degradation.
Verification of disulfide bond formation within subunit and between subunits of protein nanocages.

• Staining method: Coomassie blue or silver staining.

Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Native-PAGE)

• Gel types: Tris-glycine, tris-bis, tris-acetate.
• Applications: Characterization of small protein nanocages, including ferritin, engineered ferritins, and small-sized VLPs.

Differentiation of protein nanocage assembly from incomplete multimer and monomer.

• Staining method: Coomassie blue or silver staining.

Agarose gel electrophoresis

• Gel types: low-melt agarose, standard agarose, various gel concentrations.
• Applications: Characterization and separation of protein nanocages, such as ferritin and VLPs.

Separation of different isoforms of VLPs, for example, HBc T=3 and T=4 VLPs.
Detection of possible nucleic acids bound with or buried inside protein nanocages after purification.

• Staining method: Coomassie blue and DNA staining.

Our gel electrophoresis service procedure is shown below. If you are interested in our gel electrophoresis service, please feel free to contact us through online inquiry. Our electrophoresis experts will offer useful suggestions on sample preparation, tips about how to safely deliver your protein sample, as well as the fastest way to deliver. After we receive your sample, we will select the most appropriate technique to meet your needs and conduct the experiment without any delay. A final report containing the electrophoresis procedure, result, analysis, and following research suggestions will be provided.

Fig 2. Gel Electrophoresis Service Procedure