Agarose and acrylamide are the most commonly used electrophoresis gels for their versatility with buffers and ability to generate reproducible results. Agarose typically runs horizontal tests to resolve large DNA fragments while acrylamide runs vertical separations for shorter nucleic acids. Easy to handle, the gels are chosen based on the high resolution desired and the samples. The concentration or ratio of the agarose and acrylamide will determine the overall working porosity.