Electrophoresis

The positively and negatively charged side chains of proteins cause them to behave like amino acids in an electrical field; that is, they migrate during electrophoresis at low pH values to the cathode (negative terminal) and at high pH values to the anode (positive terminal). The isoelectric point, the pH value at which the protein molecule does not migrate, is in the range of pH 5 to 7 for many proteins. Proteins such as lysozyme, cytochrome c, histone, and others rich in lysine and arginine, however, have isoelectric points in the pH range between 8 and 10. The isoelectric point of pepsin, which contains very few basic amino acids, is close to 1.