Structural Biochemistry/Cellulose Acetate Electrophoresis

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Overview[edit | edit source]

Cellulose acetate electrophoresis utilizes native protein charge to separate proteins based on their isoelectric point.

How it Works[edit | edit source]

A sample protein is dotted on the marked center of a cellulose acetate strip and the strip is placed in barbital buffer of a desired pH and voltage is applied across the strip. The proteins that migrate towards the anode have a pI greater than the pH of the buffer while proteins that migrate towards the cathode have a pI less than the pH of the buffer. Positively charged proteins migrate towards the cathode while negatively charged proteins migrate toward the anode.

Application[edit | edit source]

Cellulose acetate electrophoresis can be useful in identifying multimeric proteins formed by different isoforms since each ratio of isoforms will have a different charge due to the different amino acid structure.