Channel thickness variations could degrade resolution in electrophoresis.
Variations in the lateral dimensions of capillaries and ultrathin gels along their length could lead to a distortion of the sample zone because charged particles traveling near the wall must travel a longer distance under a smaller field than particles traveling along the centerline. The size of the effect is computed by solving Laplace's equation for the potential everywhere in a conducting slab with a discontinuity in the lateral discontinuity in the lateral dimensions and integrating the travel time along different streamlines.
Holzwarth
G
G
Department of Physics, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA.
D004563:Electrochemistry; D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D008433:Mathematics; D013696:Temperature