Different GAGs have characteristic electrophoretic migration patterns.
High purity GAGs usually migrate as a single band. In acidic medium, the carboxyl ionization is suppressed and migration becomes a function of the degree of sulfation. As heparin is the most highly sulfated GAG, it is the fastest moving component. In cationic buffers, such as barium acetate, the electrophoretic mobility is usually an inverse function of shielding of the anionic charges of GAGs by the cations. Heparinoids typically have three or more bands.