Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the top to create the sample wells. After the gel is polymerized the comb can be removed and the gel is ready for electrophoresis. Various buffer systems are used in PAGE depending on the nature of the sample and the experimental objective. The buffers used at the anode and cathode may be the same or different. An electric field is applied across the gel, causing the negatively charged proteins or nucleic acids to migrate across the gel away from the negative electrode (which is the cathode being that this is an electrolytic rather than galvanic cell) and towards the positive
Silver chloride electrode chloride-ions: The standard electrode potential E against standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) is 0.230V ± 10mV. The potential is however very sensitive to traces of bromide ions which make it more negative. (The more exact standard potential given by an IUPAC review paper is +0.22249 V, with a standard deviation of 0.13 mV at 25 °C.) Commercial reference electrodes consist of a plastic tube electrode body. The electrode is a silver wire that is coated with a thin layer of silver chloride, either physically by dipping the wire in molten silver chloride, chemically by electroplating the wire in concentrated hydrochloric acid