A short history of electrophoretic methods

High resolution separation of proteins, based on charge differences, is possible with disc electrophoresis, displacement electrophoresis (isotachophoresis) and notably isoelectric focusing (IEF). Size separation is obtained in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The combination of gel IEF, followed by SDS-PAGE in a second-dimensional slab gel, i.e. two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, affords the highest resolution with up to several thousand spots per gel. Staining of proteins gives high resolution patterns which can be scanned and stored in comprehensive databases. Over the last 10 years the electrophoretic separation in gels and subsequent visualization of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) and even genes as well as nucleotides have been much improved, making possible efficient mapping of the genes in humans and all other organisms. This has led to the biggest concerted endeavor in the history of science, i.e. the mapping of the human genome, which will be of importance as long as mankind exists. In the last years electrophoresis in capillaries has attracted much interest because for numerous substances, such as proteins nucleic acids, pharmaceuticals, metabolites, and peptides, it offers high resolution on the analytical scale with over 1 million theoretical plates. Electrophoretic methods have unprecedented impact on life sciences, providing a basis for unique advances in biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, gene technology and medicine.