National Cancer Institute (source definition)
Sodium Dodecylsulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis
Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is a procedure for estimating molecular weights of polypeptides, and uses SDS, a detergent that dissociates and unfolds oligomeric proteins into its subunits. The SDS binds to the polypeptides to form complexes with fairly constant charge to mass ratios. The electrophoretic migration rate through a gel is therefore determined only by the size of the complexes.
Review and references
Automated source check (NCI definition)
2026-10-20
2026-10-20
professional use
What it is
Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is a procedure for estimating molecular weights of polypeptides, and uses SDS, a detergent that dissociates and unfolds oligomeric proteins into its subunits. The SDS binds to the polypeptides to form complexes with fairly constant charge to mass ratios. The electrophoretic migration rate through a gel is therefore determined only by the size of the complexes.
Source: National Cancer Institute, NCI Thesaurus 26.09d, C18150. NCI definition, reproduced without modification under CC BY 4.0.
Source identity and definition checked automatically on 2026-10-20. No individual clinical interpretation or human reviewer is asserted.
Compliance note
Reference intervals and interpretation depend on the laboratory, specimen, method and clinical context. This source definition is educational information; it does not establish a diagnosis, product approval or suitability for an individual.