ElectrophoresisA. Description The term electrophoresis means any
experimentaltechnique that is based onmovement of charged particles
(ions, molecules, macromolecules) in an electric fieldin a liquid
medium. Electrophoresis is the separation of charged compounds
based on theirelectrical charge.. !omponents Any electrically
charged particle dissolved in aqueous solution, "hen placed to
aconstant electric field, "ill start to migrate to"ards the
electrode bearing the oppositecharge# the speed of the particle
movement "ill be directly proportional to the
appliedvoltageandparticlecharge, but inverselyproportional
totheparticlesi$e. Anymolecules that differ in si$e and%or charge
can be separated from each other in this"ay. The electrophoretic
analysis can in principle be applied to any particles that
arecharged under given experimental condition, such as small
cations or anions, organicacids, amino acids, peptides,
saccharides, lipids, proteins, nucleotides, nucleic acids,even the
"holesubcellularparticles or the "hole cells.&n practice,
ho"ever, the byfar the most common sub'ects of electrophoretic
separation are proteins and nucleicacids.!. Applications on medical
field(el electrophoresis%Agarose gel electrophoresis) Is commonly
used in plant breeding and genomics for genotyping with molecular
markers A well established technique routinely used in clinical
laboratories for screening proteinabnormalities in various
biological fluids (serum, urine, CSF! An essentialaid to the
diagnosis andtherapeutic follo"*up of patients "ithplasma cell
disordersSerum electrophoresis" As a follow up to abnormal findings
on other laboratory tests, such as total protein and#oralbumin
level, elevated urine protein levels, elevated calcium levels, or
low white or redblood cell counts $hen symptoms suggest an
inflammatory condition, an autoimmune disease, an acute orchronic
infection, a kidney or liver disorder, or a protein%losing
condition $hen a doctor is investigating symptoms that
suggestmultiple myeloma, such as bonepain,anemia, fatigue,
une&plainedfractures, or recurrent infections, tolookfor
thepresenceofacharacteristicband(monoclonalimmunoglobulininthebetaorgammaregion'
if a sharp band is seen, its identity as a monoclonal
immunoglobulin is typicallyconfirmed by immunofi&ation
electrophoresis! (o monitor treatment of multiple myeloma to see if
the monoclonal band is reduced inquantity or disappears completely
with treatment)rine protein electrophoresis" $hen protein is
present in urine in higher than normal amounts to determine the
source ofthe abnormally high protein' it may be used to determine
whether the protein is
escapingfromthebloodplasma(suggestingcompromisedkidneyfunction or
isanabnormalproteincomingfroma different source (suchas aplasma
cell cancer like multiplemyeloma! $henmultiplemyelomais suspected,
todeterminewhether anyof the monoclonalimmunoglobulinsorfragmentsof
monoclonal immunoglobulinareescapingintotheurine' if
asharpbandsuggestiveofamonoclonal proteinisobserved,
itsidentityistypically confirmed by immunofi&ation
electrophoresis!CSF protein electrophoresis" (osearchfor the
characteristic bandingseeninmultiple sclerosis' the presence
ofmultiple distinct bands in the CSF (that are not also present in
serum are referred to asoligoclonal bands! *ost people with
multiple sclerosis, as well as some otherinflammatory conditions of
the brain, have such oligoclonal bands! (o evaluate people having
headaches or other neurologic symptoms to look for
proteinssuggestive of inflammation or infection!Immunofi&ation
electrophoresis" $hen an abnormal band suggestive of a monoclonal
immunoglobulin is seen on either aserum or a urine electrophoresis
pattern+esources)http)%%che,.lf,.cuni.c$%html%Electrophoresis.pdfhttp)%%labtestsonline.org%understanding%analytes%electrophoresis%tab%faqhttp)%%""".dmb'.org.rs%'mb%pdf%-.,.*,%-.pdfhttp)%%""".extension.org%pages%/-/00%gel*electrophoresis*principles*and*applications1.2342$nt5678
