Schematic representation of a protein electrophoresis gel
In chemistry and medicine, protein electrophoresis is a method of analysing a mixture of proteins by means of gel electrophoresis, mainly in blood serum (blood plasma is not suitable).
Interpretation
There are two large classes of blood proteins: albumin and globulin. They are generally equal in proportion, but albumin is much smaller and lightly negatively charged, leading to an accumulation of albumin on the electrophoretic gel. A small band before albumin represents transthyretin (also named pre-albumin ). Some forms of medication or body chemicals can cause their own band, usually small (see, however, paraprotein).
The globulins are classified by their banding pattern (with their main representatives):
See also