What type of electrophoresis is used to determine which immunoglobulin is in excess?

Immunofixation electrophoresis is specifically designed to identify and quantify different types of immunoglobulins in a sample. This technique combines the principles of electrophoresis with immunochemistry to separate proteins based on their size and charge, and then uses specific antibodies to fix the proteins of interest onto the gel.

When a patient's serum is subjected to immunofixation electrophoresis, the gel is first run to separate the immunoglobulins. Following the electrophoresis, specific antibodies against various immunoglobulin classes (such as IgG, IgA, IgM, etc.) are applied to the gel. If a particular immunoglobulin is present in excess, the corresponding area will bind to the antibody, leading to the formation of a visible precipitin line. This allows for not only the identification but also the quantification of the excess immunoglobulin.

While other types of electrophoresis like capillary electrophoresis, agarose gel electrophoresis, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis can separate proteins based on various properties, they do not incorporate the use of specific antibodies for identification. This limits their ability to confirm which immunoglobulin is present in excess without further testing or the need for additional visual