Chen N, Chrambach A. Enhanced field strength and resolution in gel electrophoresis upon substitution of buffer by histidine at its isoelectric point.
Electrophoresis 1996;
17:699-703. [PMID:
8738330 DOI:
10.1002/elps.1150170413]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Gel electrophoresis in isoelectric buffers, recently introduced by R. Westermeier and H. Schickle (Electrophoresis '95, Paris, Abstract No.3, 1995), was applied to the automated HPGE-1000 apparatus in the expectation to be able to increase the field strength under the limiting conditions of heat dissipation capacity and voltage of that apparatus. A previous attempt to achieve that aim by reduction of gel thickness had not yielded more than a twofold increment in resolving power. Replacing 0.2 X Tris-boric acid-EDTA (TBE) buffer, conventionally applied in the apparatus at 15 V/cm, by 0.05 M histidine, pH 7.6 (close to the pI of 7.47), allows one to increase the field strength to 60 V/cm, thus providing a nearly fivefold increment in resolution under otherwise identical conditions (fluorescein carboxylate-labeled conalbumin-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and soybean trypsin inhibitor-SDS samples, 10 degrees C, 4% MetaPhor agarose). An additional decrease in band dispersion can be obtained by decreasing the starting zone width through buffer dilution in the sample phase.
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