Take the 2-minute tour ×  I know it's a type of capillary
electrophoresis, but I don't get how does the separation happen
exactly.  share|improve this question add comment  1 Answer  up
vote 1 down vote accepted  Many of us are using isotachophoresis
all the time without even realising it. The explanation that
follows may not be exact, but I hope that it helps.  Firstly,
think about a simple electrophoresis set-up - in agarose
electrophoresis of DNA we have a uniformly distributed buffer
such as Tris-borate. The current is carried by the borate ions
and the DNA molecules run through the homogeneous electric field
towards the anode. They separate by size because of the sieving
effect of the agarose matrix.  Now let's think about what is
happening in an SDS-PAGE separation (a Laemmli gel). Just to
remind you:  The running (or reservoir) buffer is Tris-glycine
pH 8.3 The stacking gel is in Tris.HCl pH 6.8 The separating gel
is in Tris.HCl pH 8.8  When the power supply is turned on, the
glycinate ion in the top r