Conventional carrier ampholyte-isoelectric focusing is unsuitable for
separating wool and hair proteins. The inability to form stable narrow
pH gradients at acidic pH values does not allow good resolution of th
e many acidic wool and hair proteins. To evaluate the usefulness of im
mobilised pH gradient-isoelectric focusing (IPG-IEF) for wool proteins
, S-amidomethyl wool proteins were analysed using IPG-IEF. Over twenty
bands were visible on a pH 4-7 IPG-IEF gel. IPG-IEF was combined with
sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)
to give a two dimensional separation, and over 50 protein spots were
observed. IPG-IEF appears to be ideally suited to the separation of wo
ol proteins. The resolution of two-dimensional electrophoresis using I
PG-IEF was greater than previously obtained using acid or alkaline PAG
E in the first dimension. Good reproducibility of spot position was ob
served.