Ultrathin-layer zone electrophoresis of alcohol dehydrogenase in partly rehydrated polyacrylamide gels: an alternative to starch gel electrophoresis.

A highly sensitive electrophoretic technique for the separation of alcohol dehydrogenase isoenzymes by zone electrophoresis in partly rehydrated polyacrylamide gels is described. Five hundred microm thin polyacrylamide gels are polymerized under standardized conditions. After polymerization the gels are washed thoroughly with distilled water to remove any unreacted monomers, catalysts or still soluble polymers. The washed gels are then impregnated with 0.5% Tween 20 and dried. Before electrophoresis the dry gels are rehydrated to a thickness of 250 microm, which makes up 50% of the original gel volume. Rehydration is carried out by use of a degassed buffer solution. This method permits the demonstration of the isoenzymes of alcohol-dehydrogenase class I and II in man and allows quantitative determination.