Discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for typing haptoglobin in bloodstains

A routine method is described for obtaining reproducible haptoglobin patterns from bloodstains by discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. By employing a stacking gel, proteins from bloodstain extracts are concentrated into narrow zones, before entering the resolving gel. This effect yields highly resolved haptoglobin patterns. Therefore, laboratories without the specialized equipment and expertise for polyacrylamide gradient gel preparation can still obtain highly resolved haptoglobin patterns from bloodstains.