Diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE or DEAE-C) is a positively charged resin used in ion exchange chromatography

Ion exchange chromatography

Ion-exchange chromatography is a process that allows the separation of ions and polar molecules based on their charge. It can be used for almost any kind of charged molecule including large proteins, small nucleotides and amino acids. The solution to be injected is usually called a sample, and the...

, a type of column chromatography

Column chromatography

Column chromatography in chemistry is a method used to purify individual chemical compounds from mixtures of compounds. It is often used for preparative applications on scales from micrograms up to kilograms.The main advantage of column chromatography is the relatively low cost and disposability...

, used in protein and nucleic acid purification/separation. Gel matrix beads are derivatized with DEAE and lock negatively charged proteins or nucleic acids into the matrix, until released by increasing the salt concentration of the solvent. DE52 has a pKa

Acid dissociation constant

An acid dissociation constant, Ka, is a quantitative measure of the strength of an acid in solution. It is the equilibrium constant for a chemical reaction known as dissociation in the context of acid-base reactions...

 of 11.5.

DEAE-Dextran

Dextran

Dextran is a complex, branched glucan composed of chains of varying lengths...

 (DEAE-D) is also used for transfecting

Transfection

Transfection is the process of deliberately introducing nucleic acids into cells. The term is used notably for non-viral methods in eukaryotic cells...

 animal cells with foreign DNA. It is added to solution containing DNA meant for transfection. It binds and interacts with negatively charged DNA molecules and via a largely unknown mechanism brings about the uptake of nucleic acid

Nucleic acid

Nucleic acids are biological molecules essential for life, and include DNA and RNA . Together with proteins, nucleic acids make up the most important macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information...

s by the cell. This procedure is highly suited for transient transfection used for various molecular biology

Molecular biology

Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...

studies.