Acrylamide is a crucial component in the formation of polyacrylamide gels, which are used for the separation and analysis of proteins and nucleic acids. The polymerization of acrylamide in the presence of a crosslinker, typically N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide, forms a gel matrix. This gel matrix is then used in techniques such as PAGE (Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis) to separate biomolecules based on their size and charge.
