Gel Electrophoresis Lab Report

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Gel electrophoresis is a technique used to separate macromolecules (DNA, RNA, proteins, etc.) via an electric field. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) is a variation of gel electrophoresis that is used to separate proteins by size alone. SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) is a detergent with a negative charge. When a protein is heated with SDS, it is denatured and only retains its primary structure. Also, because of its net negative charge, when SDS binds to a protein, it makes the charge of the protein negative. This means that all proteins that are denatured with SDS assume a linear shape and are negatively charged. These denatured proteins are then run through an electric field conducted through a polyacrylamide

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