Electrophoretic transfer of protein-pigment complexes from non-denaturing gels to electron microscopy grids

Different fractions of a mixture of protein-pigment complexes have been separated from one another by non-denaturing gel electrophoresis. These complexes were prepared for observation by inserting electron microscope grids directly into the focused bands of the pigment-protein complexes and resuming electrophoresis for a brief time, so that the complexes were deposited onto the grids. It was found that complexes deposited from each band exhibited distinctly different appearances. It was also found that the exact conditions of electrophoretic deposition onto the grids affected the appearance of the complexes. The protein-pigment complexes were characterized additionally by spectroscopy and denaturing gel electrophoresis.