Fixation of amino acids and oligopeptides by freeze-drying in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

Following polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in an acetic/formic acid buffer, pH 2.0, in fabric reinforced gels, amino acids and oligopeptides could successfully be fixed in the gel by freeze-drying. Lyophilization of the fabric reinforced polyacrylamide gel after electrophoresis resulted in a dry film which absorbed ninhydrin solution quickly and uniformly, thus improving the detection limit for amino acids and oligopeptides with molecular weights ranging from 189-1045. Most amino acids were detected with a sensitivity of 0.1-0.25 microgram and for oligopeptides the detection limit was found to be 0.5-5 microgram.