SDS-PAGE is an electrophoresis method that allows protein separation by mass. The medium (also referred to as ′matrix′) is a polyacrylamide-based discontinuous gel.SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis), the use of sodium dodecyl sulfate and polyacrylamide gel largely eliminates the influence of the structure and charge, and proteins are separated solely based on polypeptide chain length. It uses sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) molecules to help identify and isolate protein molecules.SDS-PAGE is a discontinuous electrophoretic system developed by Ulrich K. Laemmli which is commonly used as a method to separate proteins with molecular masses between 5 and 250 KDa.The publication describing it is the most frequently cited paper by a single author, and the second most cited overall.

PROCEDURE

The SDS-PAGE method is composed of gel preparation, sample preparation, electrophoresis, protein staining or western blotting and analysis of the generated banding pattern.

APPLICATIONS

The SDS-PAGE in combination with a protein stain is widely used in biochemistry for the quick and exact separation and subsequent analysis of proteins. It has comparatively low instrument and reagent costs and is an easy-to-use method. Because of its low scalability, it is mostly used for analytical purposes and less for preparative purposes, especially when larger amounts of a protein are to be isolated.

Additionally, SDS-PAGE is used in combination with the western blot for the determination of the presence of a specific protein in a mixture of proteins - or for the analysis of post-translational modifications. Post-translational modifications of proteins can lead to a different relative mobility (i.e. a band shift) or to a change in the binding of a detection antibody used in the western blot (i.e. a band disappears or appears).

In mass spectrometry of proteins, SDS-PAGE is a widely used method for sample preparation prior to spectrometry, mostly using in-gel digestion. In regards to determining the molecular mass of a protein, the SDS-PAGE is a bit more exact than an analytical ultracentrifugation, but less exact than a mass spectrometry or - ignoring post-translational modifications - a calculation of the protein molecular mass from the DNA sequence.

In medical diagnostics, SDS-PAGE is used as part of the HIV test and to evaluate proteinuria. In the HIV test, HIV proteins are separated by SDS-PAGE and subsequently detected by Western Blot with HIV-specific antibodies of the patient, if they are present in his blood serum. SDS-PAGE for proteinuria evaluates the levels of various serum proteins in the urine, e.g. Albumin, Alpha-2-macroglobulin and IgG.