Tag: Gel electrophoresis

The molecular weights of proteins range from as small as 5,000 daltons to well over 1,000,000 daltons. In scientific fields like biochemistry and molecular biology, the dalton and its larger counterpart, the kilodalton (kDa), are the standard units used to describe what is the unit of measurement for proteins.

Over 90% of protein electrophoresis procedures utilize polyacrylamide gels, a synthetic matrix that acts as a molecular sieve. This technique, known as PAGE, is the fundamental process used to separate proteins based on size, charge, or shape in laboratory settings, directly answering the query which gel is used for protein analysis.

Over 99% of biological research labs utilize protein gel electrophoresis to analyze protein samples. A protein gel, typically made of polyacrylamide, acts as a molecular sieve to separate complex mixtures of proteins based on their physical properties, enabling scientists to study them individually. By applying an electric current, proteins are sorted by size, charge, or both, providing crucial insights into their characteristics, function, and abundance.