The key difference between 1D and 2D gel electrophoresis is the properties used for the separation of proteins on gel electrophoresis. 1D gel electrophoresis only separates proteins based on the molecular weight while 2D gel electrophoresis separates proteins based on its iso-electric point and molecular weight.
Protein separation by gel electrophoresis is an important technique to characterize proteins. Proteins have varying properties; therefore, separation is more complex in comparison to DNA separation by Agarose gel electrophoresis.