Proteins are often separated by molecular weight using a process called SDS PAGE (Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis). Electrophoretic separation of protein molecules is a common method used in genetics, forensics, biotechnology, and molecular biology.
Functioning of SDS-PAGE
SDS-PAGE operates on the idea that a charged molecule, when subjected to an electric field, will migrate to the electrode with the opposite sign. The charged species’ mobility is what will ultimately cause them to separate. Due to their lower resistance during electrophoresis, smaller molecules tend to migrate more quickly. Both the structure and charge of the protein are affected by the migration rate.
Proteins are separated by their polypeptide chain length after being treated with sodium dodecyl sulfate and polyacrylamide, which eliminate the effect of the proteins’ structure and charge. Check out this page https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4517606/,
SDS’s Role in SDS-PAGE
The SDS in the SDS-PAGE buffer serves as a detergent. SDS, in combination with reducing chemicals, can alter the tertiary structure of proteins by breaking their disulfide connections.
What does “SDS PAGE” stand for?
Laemmli invented this electrophoresis system. System is generally employed as a means of protein separation. Proteins with molecular weights between 5 and 250 kDa can be separated using this electrophoretic method. It is also utilized to achieve the separation of proteins from complicated mixtures. Electrolysis of proteins will be impacted by this change in molecular structure. Proteins are separated with great accuracy using an electrophoretic method.
Just what purpose does SDS PAGE serve?
If you want to know how SDS-PAGE works, you’ve come to the right pace. The system’s methodology involves a current being passed through the gel, thereby causing the sample proteins to migrate towards the electrode. SDS Page is the name for the complete operation. It classifies the proteins by size. SDS contains an ionic detergent, which denatures proteins, binds to protein masses, and neutralizes them all at once.
The factor upon which the protein migration rate depends is significantly different between the page and SDS page, which results in a correspondingly large divergence in the migration rate. Protein separation in a page is affected by the sample’s density and three-dimensional structure. In contrast, protein movement on an SDS page is solely based on the molecular weight of the individual proteins.
Benefits
Because of the ease with which the electrophoretic system, and the SDS page in particular, may be used, we are able to accomplish a great deal. If we run the system correctly, we can use it to calculate the mass of the proteins in the sample. Furthermore, this method aids in the identification of target proteins by their unique sequences and molecular masses. More crucially, we can use the protein mass to distinguish between distinct species.
Gel electrophoresis, another method, also did its job. The electric field it generates is useful for separating the macromolecules in a given sample. A high-resolution gel electrophoresis system, however, is the SDS page. Such a sophisticated apparatus is employed to do mass-based protein separation.
Limitations
The concept and use of the procedures described on the SDS page have some restrictions when it relates to determining a strain on the grounds of its DNA or RNA. While the electrophoretic technique is useful for determining the mass of proteins and hence visualizing protein structures, it is of little use in determining the DNA or RNA composition of a strain. Since nucleic acids are the building blocks of DNA and RNA, their presence in a sample will obscure the structure on an SDS-page gel. Find out more here.
In the SDS-PAGE technology, SDS stands for sodium dodecyl sulfate, an anionic detergent typically employed to denature or remove the fundamental properties of protein molecules present in a sample. The negatively charged SDS will disrupt protein molecule structures and be forcefully drawn to the electric field’s node. Thus, we are able to classify the proteins according to their relative masses.
The concentration of impurities in the protein molecules cannot be calculated using the SDS page. The purity can be examined by using a number of distinct quantitative techniques, including UV-Vis. Electrophoresis and similar systems are typically employed to visualize protein structure and to segregate protein molecules based on mass or shape and structure. Therefore, using SDS-page or another electrophoretic technique to determine the level of impurity in a protein molecule is not feasible.