Principle : Electrophoresis is a technique that is divisive. it is used most often in a goal analytic but also sometimes to purify soluble molecules. it is not adapted to the separation of lipids. the principle consists in subjecting a mixture of molecules to an electric field which causes the migration of charged molecules. according to different parameters (charge, mass, shape, nature of support, conditions, physico-chemical) the migration rate will be variable, which allows the separation of different molecules. from this general principle, there are several variants of this technique adapted to different situations.
- Electrophoresis in non-denaturing : in the electrophoresis in non-denaturing, the molecules are separated in their state as close as possible to their native state.
- Electrophoresis in denaturing conditions : as its name suggests, in this variation, the molecules are subjected to electrophoresis prior to electrophoretic separation, destroying the native three-dimensional structure.
- Two-dimensional electrophoresis : two-dimensional electrophoresis was simply a repetition of the two types of electrophoresis presented above, but applied successively on the same gel according to two different orientations.