|
Medical Definition of Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
1. Analytical and separative technique in which molecules, particularly proteins, are separated by their different electrophoretic mobilities in a hydrated gel. The gel suppresses convective mixing of the fluid phase through which the electrophoresis takes place and contributes molecular sieving. Commonly carried out in the presence of the anionic detergent sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS). SDS denatures proteins so that noncovalently associating sub unit polypeptides migrate independently and by binding to the proteins confers a net negative charge roughly proportional to the chain weight. See: SDS PAGE. (21 Jun 1999)