Due to their poor solubility during IEF membrane proteins cannot be separated and analyzed satisfactorily with classical 2-DE. A more efficient method for such hydrophobic proteins is the benzyldimethyl-n-hexadecylammonium chloride (16-BAC)/SDS-PAGE, but the corresponding protocol is intricate and time-consuming. We now developed an easy-to-handle electrophoresis method in connection with a novel device which enables reproducible separation of ionic solubilized membrane proteins using individually rehydrated plastic sheet gel strips. These strips are suitable for the first dimension in a 2-D 16-BAC/SDS system and can be handled easily; this is demonstrated by the separation of membrane proteins of human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells.