Author: Dr. Alka Mishra, Chandrakala
Volume: 01
First Online: 2026
Pages: 51-69
DOI:

This chapter focuses on the fundamental principles and laboratory applications of chromatography and electrophoresis, two essential techniques used for the separation, identification, purification, and characterization of biological molecules. It introduces important chromatographic methods, including paper chromatography, thin-layer chromatography (TLC), and gel filtration chromatography, explaining their working principles, instrumentation, procedures, advantages, limitations, and applications in pharmaceutical, biochemical, and clinical laboratories. The chapter also discusses electrophoretic techniques such as agarose gel electrophoresis, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), and twodimensional PAGE (2D-PAGE), emphasizing their role in the separation and analysis of proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes, and other biomolecules. Factors influencing separation efficiency, sample preparation, gel composition, staining methods, and result interpretation are described to provide practical laboratory understanding. The applications of these techniques in molecular biology, biotechnology, clinical diagnosis, forensic science, pharmaceutical quality control, and biomedical research are also highlighted. By combining theoretical concepts with practical laboratory approaches, this chapter enables students to understand modern analytical separation techniques essential for research and diagnostic investigations.