Home▸Chemistry & Materials▸Gel Electrophoresis: Separating Molecules by Size

🧬 Gel Electrophoresis: Separating Molecules by Size

Interactive 3D gel slab where users load DNA or protein fragments of different sizes, apply a voltage slider, and watch bands migrate at different rates through the gel matrix toward the anode.

Chemistry & Materials3DModerate60 FPS

A glowing 3D gel slab sits between two electrodes. Load a DNA digest or an SDS-PAGE protein sample into the wells, apply a voltage, and watch each fragment migrate toward the anode at a rate set by its own size and the density of the gel matrix.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Charged fragments are pulled through a porous gel by an electric field; the sieving mesh slows large molecules far more than small ones, so a mixed sample resolves into separate bands ordered by size — smallest travels farthest, largest barely moves.

🎮 How to Use

Set the voltage and gel density, pick a DNA or protein sample, then press Run. Watch the reference ladder and sample lanes spread out over time, and check the leading band's Rf value as it approaches the anode.

💡 Did You Know?

SDS-PAGE works because sodium dodecyl sulfate coats denatured proteins in a uniform negative charge-to-mass ratio, so — unlike native proteins — they separate almost purely by size, just like DNA fragments do in an agarose gel.

⚙ Under the hood

Interactive 3D gel slab where users load DNA or protein fragments of different sizes, apply a voltage slider, and watch bands migrate at different rates through the gel matrix toward the anode.

gel-electrophoresisdna-separationmolecular-biologychemistrylab-techniquesprotein-analysis

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install