Serum protein electrophoresis

Serum protein electrophoresis is a simple, affordable method of separating blood proteins based on electrical charge, size and shape. In the blood serum there are two major categories of proteins: albumin and globulin. Albumin has the largest concentration and globulines are in a smaller amount, but they are the basis for electrophoresis. There are 5 categories of globulins: alpha-1, alpha-2, beta-1, beta-2 and gamma. The patient’s serum is placed on a special medium (e.g., cellulose, agar) and then an electric charge is applied for a period of time when the proteins will migrate from the negative pole to the positive one. Albumin migrates and reaches the positive pole and gamma globulins will remain at the negative pole, resulting in the fractions specific to each protein. With the help of the staining step, the fractions are highlighted and can be interpreted by means of readers that measure optical density. The results are expressed for each type of protein in part and expressed as: normal, low, increased. More details :