Which technique involves separation of serum proteins by electrical charge?

Which technique involves separation of serum proteins by electrical charge?

• A. Electrophoresis
• B. Turbidimetry
• C. Nephelometry
• D. Chromatography

Answer: (A)

Separation by electrical charge is the hallmark of electrophoresis. When an electric field is applied, charged serum proteins migrate toward the electrode with the opposite charge. How fast they move depends on their net charge at the given pH and their size/shape, so different proteins travel at different rates and form distinct bands or zones. This separation is the basis for serum protein electrophoresis, which reveals the albumin and globulin fractions and helps detect abnormalities like monoclonal gammopathies. Turbidimetry and nephelometry rely on how much light is blocked or scattered by particles, not on moving charged molecules. Chromatography separates components through interactions with a stationary phase and a mobile phase, not by applying an electric field to separate by charge.

Separation by electrical charge is the hallmark of electrophoresis. When an electric field is applied, charged serum proteins migrate toward the electrode with the opposite charge. How fast they move depends on their net charge at the given pH and their size/shape, so different proteins travel at different rates and form distinct bands or zones. This separation is the basis for serum protein electrophoresis, which reveals the albumin and globulin fractions and helps detect abnormalities like monoclonal gammopathies.

Turbidimetry and nephelometry rely on how much light is blocked or scattered by particles, not on moving charged molecules. Chromatography separates components through interactions with a stationary phase and a mobile phase, not by applying an electric field to separate by charge.