Agarose Gel Electrophoresis
Gel Electrophoresis
Gel electrophoresis is a procedure that separates molecules on the basis of their rate of movement through a gel under the influence of an electrical field. The direction of movement is affected by the charge of the molecules, and the rate of movement is affected by their size and shape, the density of the gel, and the strength of the electrical field.
DNA is a negatively charged molecule, so it will move toward the positive pole of the gel when a current is applied. When DNA has been cut by restriction enzymes, the different-sized fragments will migrate at different rates. Because the smallest fragments move the most quickly, they will migrate the farthest during the time the current is on. Keep in mind that the length of each fragment is measured in number of DNA base pairs.
Sources:
Content:
https://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/labbench/lab6/enzwork.html
Image: