Evaluation and documentation of electrophoresis results

For archival purposes, it is often desirable to store the original stained gels. This can be done with wet gels by wrapping them in foil. However, for reasons of space, it is preferable to store them dry. This is usually done by laying the gel on filter paper, wrapping in porous film and drying for a few hours in a moderate vacuum at elevated temperatures. 

The electrophoresis techniques that we have described have three significant drawbacks  

electrode chambers and buffer reservoirs, the capillary (usually contained in a thermostatted compartment), the detector (usually a UV/VIS photometer, less often a fluorimeter) and a microprocessor-driven control unit. 

During electrophoresis, cations are transported towards the cathode and they carry molecules of water and other uncharged molecules with them. This phenomenon is called electroendoosmotic flow (EOF) and the magnitude of the flow towards the cathode is given by an equation of Smoluchowski 

Positively charged ions will migrate towards the cathode as a result of both flows. 

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