TY - JOUR T1 - Carbon nanotube-modified sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for molecular weight determination of proteins JF - Analytical Biochemistry Y1 - 2011 A1 - Parthasarathy, Meera A1 - Debgupta, Joyashish A1 - Kakade, Bhalchandra A. A1 - Ansary, Abu Ayoobul A1 - Khan, Mohammad Islam A1 - Pillai, Vijayamohanan K. KW - Carbon nanotubes KW - Gel electrophoresis KW - Molecular weight determination KW - Polyacrylamide KW - Protein separation AB -

The effect of incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the gel matrix on the electrophoretic mobility of proteins based on their molecular weight differences was investigated using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). More specifically, a reduction in standard deviation in the molecular weight calibration plots by 55% in the case of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and by 34% in the case of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) compared with that of pristine polyacrylamide gels was achieved after incorporating an insignificant amount of functionalized CNTs into the gel matrix. A mechanism based on a more uniform pore size distribution in CNT modified polyacrylamide gel matrix is proposed. Furthermore, the impact of SWCNTs and MWCNTs on the mobility of proteins in different molecular weight regimes at a given acrylamide concentration offers a tunable gel matrix in terms of the selection of molecular weight ranges of proteins. The robustness and excellent reproducibility of the CNT-PAGE protocol are expected to have a significant impact on the molecular weight determination of newly isolated proteins. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PB - ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE CY - 525 B ST, STE 1900, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101-4495 USA VL - 409 IS - 2 U3 - Foreign U4 - 2.85 ER -