Subcellular fractionation utilizes one or more of the properties of each compartment, such as buoyant density, surface charge density, size, and shape, and is mainly based on differential centrifugation in a high viscosity media. Gel filtration, affinity chromatography, electrophoresis or selective density-shift perturbation can also be used. Variations in the conditions of the available protocols are dependent on the organelle, tissue or cell type and equipment used.