Question

What are the factors affecting electrophoresis?

Answer 1

Hint: It is a general term that describes the migration and separation of charged particles (ions) under the influence of an electric field. Electrophoresis is also used in laboratories in order to separate macromolecules based on size.

Complete step by step answer:
Let us first discuss electrophoresis.
What is Electrophoresis?
This term "electrophoresis" is used to describe the motion of particles in a gel or fluid within a relatively uniform electric field.

Electrophoresis may be used to separate molecules based on charge, size and binding affinity. This process is mainly applied to separate and analyse biomolecules, such as DNA, RNA, Proteins, Nucleic acids, plasmids, and fragments of these macromolecules.

The different types of electrophoresis are:
1) Affinity Electrophoresis
2) Capillary Electrophoresis
3) Gel Electrophoresis
4) Immuno-Electrophoresis
5) Electroblotting
6) Pulsed-field gel Electrophoresis
7) Isoelectric Focusing

In Electrophoresis, there are two primary factors that control how quickly a particle can move and in what direction.

First, the charge on the sample matter. Negatively charged particles are attracted towards the positive pole of an electric field while positively charged particles are attracted towards the negative pole of an electric field. A neutralised particle can be ionised only if the field is strong enough otherwise, it doesn't tend to be affected.

Second, the size of the ion. Small ions move easily in gel or fluid much more quickly than the larger ones.
So, these are the factors that affect the electrophoresis.

Note: It must be remembered that the extent of electrophoresis depends on the charge on the ion. Greater the charge, more the electrophoresis