Gel+Electrophoresis+9-10

=Electrophuture =

__ Who are we? __
I started Electrophuture in 1985 to advance my interest in gel electrophoresis and find more applications for it in everyday life. Our company has the top researchers from around the world spending time figuring out the best ways to further our knowledge of gel electrophoresis. Our researches are constantly performing experiments to find new types of gel electrophoresis that will allow us to analyze DNA faster and more accurately.

**__When was gel electrophoresis created? __**
In 1950 a scientist named Oliver Smithies invented Gel electrophoresis because science was in need of a way to match DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) faster and cheaper. At first scientists were a little skeptical because nothing like that was ever up before. But through time and various testing Gel electrophoresis was proven to be an effective process. Then in 1975 a scientist by the name of Fred Sanger invented the protocol or steps of how to do Gel electrophoresis, who won the Nobel Prize for his work. The sequence thought up by Smithies, although was a great discovery for his time, was expensive and laborious, but through Sanger’s method it became even cheaper and efficient. Now the gel electrophoresis machine can read from 500 up to 1000 DNA fragment ends. In 1990 the cost of sequencing was 30 dollars per nucleotide and in 2003; the cost was 1 cent per nucleotide. As you can see the trend of sequencing costs over the years shows that the cost is decreasing at an exponential rate.

__**What is gel electrophoresis? **__
====Gel electrophoresis is the separating molecules of either nucleic acids or proteins because of their size, electric charge, and their other physical properties. Biological compounds are present either cations (positively charged ions) or anions (negatively charged ions) such as amino acids or peptides. The electrical current from one electrode repels the opposite electrical charge, while the other attracts. The particles are sorted out in the gel by size, like a sifter by frictional force. There are several influences on migration rate including particle size, particle shape, ionic strength and the temperature of the buffer in which the molecules are moving. ====

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Agarose gel electrophoresis separates DNA molecules depending on the size on the molecules. A DNA fragment is typically broken down with restriction enzymes and the agarose gel electrophoresis is used to visualize the particles. An electrical current is applied and used to move the molecules across the gel, acting as a sieve to catch the fragments as they are transported. =====

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Capillary gel electrophoresis is an analytical technique that separates the ions based on their electrophoretic mobility with the use of applied voltages. The electrophoretic mobility depends on the molecule’s charge, the viscosity (the internal property of a fluid that offers resistance to flow), and the fragment’s radius. The rate of movement is directly related to the proportion applied to the electric field—the greater the field strength the faster the mobility. For ions of the same charge the smaller had less friction and therefore faster migration rate. Capillary electrophoresis is used because it give faster results and provides high resolution separation. =====

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Native gel electrophoresis is non denaturing gel electrophoresis, meaning it is run in the absence of SDS (a compound in a type of gel electrophoresis). In SDS-PAGE the mobility of the proteins in electrophoresis depends primarily on mass, however in native PAGE the mobility varies depending on the protein’s charge and hydrodynamic size. =====

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Pulse field gel electrophoresis allows researchers to separate much larger particles of DNA than agarose gel electrophoresis. In the conventional gels the current is applied in a single direction, from top to bottom, however in PFGE the direction in altered at a regular interval. The box is loaded with the gel, the gel with the samples and then the gel is soaked in a solution with ethidium bromide which fluoresces orange when bound to DNA. =====

__**Current uses **__
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 * ====Allows scientists and researchers to study and compare macromolecules such as DNA, RNA and proteins. ====
 * Overlapping fields of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry utilizing the Gel Electrophoresis.
 * Uses in Genetics for medicine and research to study and fight human diseases.
 * Gel Electrophoresis aids in accurate research and helps to correctly identify causes in criminals.
 * Forensics uses Gel Electrophoresis to study the DNA of individuals and organisms (DNA fingerprinting can be preformed by using the agarose gel.)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Investigation of faulty products and processes
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">To purify, analyze and identify DNA samples.Used to separate DNA fragments using electrical currents.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Sorting DNA strands according to length

__**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">What can gel electrophoresis be used for in the future? **__
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Gel electrophoresis is currently being used to solve court cases, and allowing innocent people to get out of jail. Gel electrophoresis is separating acids and proteins based on size and electrical charge. In the future this technology will be used for comparing diseases and be able to decipher viruses, by comparing two different viruses together and comparing them to new viruses that are emerging to discover their affects and see if we can prevent them. It could also be used to identify differences in animal DNA to reduce inbreeding between animals. They can also use DNA found at crime scenes to identify the criminal using this procedure. In the future this technology should be used for breaking down DNA and seeing how different DNA samples differ from one another. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">﻿[[image:buffer.jpg width="309" height="250" align="right"]]
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Agarose Gel Electrophoresis. Asu.edu. Web. 20 December 2010. [] ====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Alliance Protein Laboratories Inc. “Native non-denaturing gel electrophoresis”. Biowww.net. 2006.Web. 21 December 2010. [] ====
 * __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">References: __**

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Earley, Clarke Dr. Gel Electrophoresis. Kent.edu.2008.Web. 21 December 2010. []
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"Gel Electrophoresis". Image. cbs.dtu. 23 December 2010. []

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"Gel Electrophoresis Can Be Used to Find Genes Associated with a Disease ."
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Web. December 21, 2010. [] ==== <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"Gel Electrophoresis Stain". nuigalway.ie. Image. 23 December 2010.[| http://www.nuigalway.ie/research/salmonella_lab/molecular_analysis.html]

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Lila Roe. “What Are Practical Applications of Gel Electrophoresis?. eHow. February23rd 2010. eHow. December 23rd 2010.[] =====

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Mehrtens, Brad, Deanna Raineri, Magaret Timme, Ray Zielinski. Experiment 2: Gel Electrophoresis of DNA. Illinois.edu. Web. 21 December 2010. [] =====

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Precissi, Juliet. Capillary Electrophoresis. Ucdavis.edu. Web. 20 December 2010. [] =====

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Protein Gel Electrophoresis.Washington.edu. Web. 20 December 2010. [] =====