Electrophoresis Units

Electrophoresis unit - area of application

Electrophoresis systems are devices that are mainly used in molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, food analysis, veterinary and human medical laboratories. The most important applications of the electrophoresis units include the production of polyacrylamide gels, the electrophoretic separation of proteins, nucleic acids, protein staining, DNA/RNA analysis in the form of fragments and DNA sequencing in the laboratory. Electrophoresis is a laboratory technique in which substance mixtures or particles are separated in an electrical field on the basis of size, weight and electrical charge. For example, in laboratory medicine serum electrophoresis is used for fractionating serum proteins. In order to diagnose various illnesses, by way of protein electrophoresis doctors can obtain information about the presence of the relative quantities of protein, albumin, alpha-2, alpha-2, beta-globulin as well as gamma globulin in the blood. The offered electrophoresis apparatuses manufactured by Elettrofor and BIOTEC FISCHER are primarily suitable for various gel applications and experiments in the laboratory.

Gel electrophoresis units - functional principle

Gel electrophoresis systems are devices used in the laboratory for gel electrophoresis, a technique in which a gel is used as the carrier medium. Agarose or polyacrylamide forms a close-knit network that slows down the molecules to be separated during their migration in the electrical field.

Principle of gel electrophoresis: electrophoresis takes place in the gel electrophoresis unit in that electrophoretic separation occurs through the pores present in the gel, which act like a sieve and the size of which determines the migration speed of the molecules present in the gel. Depending on the size and charge of the molecules, they move through the gel acting as a molecular sieve at different speeds. The size of the gel pores is determined by the concentration of the basic gel, agarose or polyacrylamide. In gel electrophoresis units, small, negatively-charged molecules (anions) and short DNA fragments migrate most quickly in the direction of the positively-charged anode. Positively-charged molecules (cations) migrate in the direction of the negatively-charged cathode. As a reference, a marker of DNA molecules of known length is also present. Natively DNA/RNA fragments are invisible and they are therefore stained either with ethidium bromide or with megafluorine. Proteins are additionally charged as zwitterions by way of detergent such as sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) so that separation by molecule mass can take place.

Agarose gel: Agarose gels have relatively large pores. The pore size can be regulated by way of the agarose concentration. 1% gels have pore size of around 150 nanometers, 0.15% gels of around 500 nm. Agarose gel electrophoresis is suitable for the separation of DNA and larger protein molecules. The main area of application is the separation of nucleic acids.

Polyacrylamide gel: polyacrylamide gels are produced through the polymerisation of acrylamide. They have much smaller pores of between 3 and 6 nanometres. The pore size depends on the degree of cross-linking. Polyacrylamide electrophoresis is frequently used in the separation of smaller protein molecules.

Gel electrophoresis systems - types

Gel electrophoresis apparatuses come in different designs, sizes and models, and different gel electrophoresis systems are used depending on the type of electrophoresis, the area of application, method, carrier material and other factors. Classic gel electrophoresis is carried out as zone electrophoresis. Discontinuous electrophoresis achieves a higher resolution. There are also electrophoresis types such as free-flow electrophoresis, density gradient electrophoresis of affinity electrophoresis. We classify our gel electrophoresis units by gel chamber: agarose gel and polyacrylamide electrophoresis: horizontal gel electrophoresis systems and vertical gel electrophoresis systems.

Electrophoresis apparatus - accessories

Our gel electrophoresis apparatuses are characterised by their robust design, long service life and reliability - as well as the possibility of replacing or adding individual parts. Depending on the electrophoresis system, you can order various components and electrophoresis accessories such a glass plates, electrophoresis chambers, combs, gel carriers, gel pouring systems, gel pouring ramps, spacer sets, contrast plates and other accessories for the gel electrophoresis systems that we offer.