The development of contemporary molecular biology with its growing tendency toward in-depth study of the mechanisms of biological processes, structure, function, and identification of biopolymers requires application of accurate physicochemical methods. Electrophoresis occupies a key position among such methods. A wide range of phenomena fall un der the designation of electrophoresis in the literature at the present time. One common characteristic of all such phenomena is transport by an elec tric field of a substance whose particles take on a net charge as a result of interaction with the solution. The most important mechanisms for charge generation are dissociation of the substance into ions in solution and for mation of electrical double layers with uncompensated charges on particles of dispersed medium in the liquid. As applied to the problem of separation, purification, and analysis of cells, cell organelles, and biopolymers, there is a broad classification of electrophoretic methods primarily according to the methodological charac teristics of the process, the types of supporting media, etc. An extensive literature describes the use of these methods for the investigation of differ ent systems. A number of papers are theoretical in nature. Thus, the mi croscopic theory has been developed rather completely 13] by considering electrophoresis within the framework of electrokinetic phenomena based on the concept of the electrical double layer."

We are extremely grateful to Springer-Verlag and to Prof. Dr. W. BeiglbOck for bring ing out the English edition of our book. We are also thankful to Dr. R. S. Wadhwa for a qualified translation. While preparing the manuscript for translation, we took the opportunity to go through the whole text, make necessary amendments, supplement the original material with new results, and considerably enlarge the lists of references. We hope that this book will serv to strengthen the bonds of international coopera tion in this field. July 1986 The authors Translator's Note The final form of the bibliography contains a (free) English translation of all the Russian books and papers published in the USSR. This has been done at the request of the authors and with the concurrence of Prof. BeiglMck. The titles are not always exact, and some of the works have already been translated into English or other European languages. Unfortunately, the authors were not in a position to provide detailed information on this subject. R.S. Wadhwa Preface to the Russian Edition What shall I do ... With their weightlessness In this ponderous world? M. Tsvetaeva, The Poet This book deals with the behavior of a liquid in zero-gravity or conditions close to it. The surge of interest in zero-gravity problems stems from the progress attained in the field of spaceflight, where such conditions can be attained for long periods of time."