Abstract: An apparatus and process are provided for transferring a gel shaped as a cylinder containing a treated sample from a first step to a second electrophoresis step without distorting the position of the treated sample within the shaped gel. A shaped gel useful in electrophoresis is formed in a tube with a multifilament thread extending the entire length of and within the central portion of the shaped gel. The shaped gel then is employed in a first treatment step to form a treated sample that may be a separated sample. After extrusion of the gel from the tube, the portion of the thread extending from each end of the shaped gel is grasped and the shaped gel containing the treated sample is transferred to contact a slab gel along the entire length of the shaped gel to effect an electrophoresis step in the second treatment step.