Extra bands in plasma and hemolyzed serum during electrophoresis and their locations?

• A. Plasma: Fibrinogen in beta-gamma region; Hemolyzed serum: Hemoglobin in alpha2/beta and beta
• B. Plasma: Albumin in albumin region; Hemolyzed serum: Myoglobin
• C. Plasma: Transferrin in beta region; Hemolyzed serum: CRP
• D. Plasma: C3 in gamma region; Hemolyzed serum: Ferritin

Answer: (A)

In protein electrophoresis, you separate plasma or serum proteins based on size and charge, yielding distinct regions for albumin, alpha, beta, and gamma globulins. Extra bands show up when a protein that isn’t normally part of the standard serum/plasma profile is present.

For plasma, fibrinogen remains in the blood because clotting hasn’t removed it yet. Its large size causes it to migrate near the beta to gamma region, producing a distinct band in the beta–gamma area. This is why an extra band in the beta–gamma region is typical for plasma when fibrinogen is present.

For hemolyzed serum, the rupture of red blood cells releases hemoglobin into the serum. Free hemoglobin then contributes additional signal in the electrophoresis pattern, commonly appearing as bands in the regions around alpha2/beta and beta, reflecting its migration characteristics under the assay conditions.

Understanding this helps distinguish sample quality issues from true abnormal findings: a fibrinogen-associated band points to plasma with intact fibrinogen, while a hemoglobin band points to hemolyzed serum. Other proteins listed, like CRP or ferritin, don’t typically produce a separate band in those specific regions in this context, and the expected locations for normal transferrin or albumin bands don’t account for an extra band pattern seen with fibrinogen in plasma or hemoglobin in hemolyzed serum.