Rapid detection and characterization of multimolecular cellular constituents by two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis

Agarose gel electrophoresis (best known for fractionating nucleic acids by length and conformation) may also be used for fractionating multimolecular complexes of either protein or protein together with other macromolecules. To improve analyses of such complexes, a procedure of two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis (2D-AGE) with the following capabilities has been developed: (1) the radius (R) of those spherical particles that form bands can be measured with an accuracy that can be as high as ±1%; (2) the solid-support-free electrophoretic mobility of band-forming particles can be measured; (3) the distribution of R in mixtures heterogeneous in R can be measured; and (4) complex mixtures can be analysed with separations that can be tuned to the R of particles of interest.