Abstract: The claimed multi-tank gel developing apparatus and method comprises of two inner tanks within one outer tank to develop multiple electrophoresis gels simultaneously. The two inner tanks have openings along the edges of the walls to allow free circulation of solutions between the inner and outer tanks. The solution maybe exchanged by lifting out the inner tanks which retains the gels inside while the solution drains out. Once the solution in the outer tank has been exchanged, the inner tanks can be re-immersed into the outer tank. Furthermore, the inner tanks have detachable bases to facilitate transfer of the gels after development. This claimed apparatus allows for efficient development of electrophoresis gels by minimizing the direct handling of the gels thereby avoiding unwanted damages often incurred by conventional manually developing methods and apparatuses. The multi-tank apparatus can accommodate various gel compositions and sizes.

Abstract: Travelling wave particle separation apparatus is provided having a flat spiral of electrodes (1,2,3,4) or a helix of similar electrodes on a cylindrical former. Only four electrical connections need to be made.

Abstract: Electrophoretic chambers having at least a region of surface modification, and methods for their fabrication, are provided. In some embodiments the subject chambers include in the region of surface modification an anchoring polymeric layer interpenetrating the surface of the chamber and an electrophoretic polymeric layer copolymerized with the anchoring polymeric layer. The subject chambers are prepared by sequentially contacting the chamber surface with a first monomer capable of interpenetrating the surface and a second monomer capable of copolymerization with the first monomer, followed by copolymerization of the first and second monomers. In other embodiments an electrophoretic polymeric layer is noncovalently bound on the surface of a rigid polymereic base material without the aid of a separate anchoring polymeric layer. The subject devices find use in any of a variety of electrophoretic applications in which entities are moved through a medium under the influence of an applied electric field.

Abstract: A capillary electrophoresis array that includes: (a) a plurality of capillary tubes arranged adjacent each other in a generally longitudinal orientation, each of the tubes having an inlet end, and outlet end, and an internal diameter no greater than about 1000 microns; and (b) a registration assembly in which adjacent tubes are held in place with a fixed lateral spacing relative to each other at both the inlet and the outlet ends of the tubes. The array is flexible along the lengths of the tubes.

Abstract: A capillary electrophoresis apparatus of the invention has: a plurality of capillaries which are filled with a migration medium and have first ends into which samples are injected and second ends in which components included in the samples are eluted; a sheath flow cell in which the second ends are arranged in a straight line at first predetermined intervals and are terminated and a sheath flow is formed; a buffer solution vessel for housing a buffer solution flowing in the sheath flow cell; a drain vessel housing the buffer solution flowed from the sheath flow cell; an optical system emitting laser light to a part near the second ends; and a fluorescent detection system for detecting fluorescent light generated from fluorophore labelling the components included in the sample eluted near the second ends by the emission of laser light, wherein the buffer solution flows from the lower part to the upper part of the sheath flow cell, thereby forming a sheath flow in the sheath flow cell.

Abstract: The present invention provides for techniques for transporting materials using electrokinetic forces through the channels of a microfluidic system. The subject materials are transported in regions of high ionic concentration, next to spacer material regions of high ionic concentration, which are separated by spacer material regions of low ionic concentration. Such arrangements allow the materials to remain localized for the transport transit time to avoid mixing of the materials. Using these techniques, an electropipettor which is compatible with the microfluidic system is created so that materials can be easily introduced into the microfluidic system. The present invention also compensates for electrophoretic bias as materials are transported through the channels of the microfluidic system by splitting a channel into portions with positive and negative surface charges and a third electrode between the two portions, or by diffusion of the electrophoresing materials after transport along a channel.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods of electrophoretically separating macromolecular species, as well as compositions and systems useful in carrying out such methods. Specifically, the methods of the present invention comprise providing a substrate that has at least a first capillary channel disposed therein. The surface of the channel has a first surface charge associated therewith, and is filled with a water soluble surface adsorbing polymer solution that bears a net charge that is the same as the charge on the capillary surface.

Abstract: A fully automated protein and/or DNA gene fragment analyzing machine and method are disclosed in which, in a simple machine structure, a plurality of electrophoresis calls each containing such fragments, are robotically, under computer programming, inserted into an electrophoresis housing and subjected to voltage for producing electrophoretic migration in one dimension (horizontally), and then preferably after robotic 90.degree. rotating of the cells, are voltage migrated in an orthogonal direction to separate the fragments vertically, and then robotically presented to an optical image scanner for identifying the brightest fragments and classifying the same, with comparison with reference image fragment locations of normal or variant fragments, and for computer storing all relevant data.

Abstract: A microchip laboratory system and method provide fluid manipulations for a variety of applications, including sample injection for microchip chemical separations. The microchip is fabricated using standard photolithographic procedures and chemical wet etching, with the substrate and cover plate joined using direct bonding. Capillary electrophoresis and electrochromatography are performed in channels formed in the substrate. Analytes are loaded into a four-way intersection of channels by electrokinetically pumping the analyte through the intersection, followed by switching of the potentials to force an analyte plug into the separation channel.

Abstract: In a method of forming a microchannel and/or microcavity structure by bonding together two elements (1, 2) having opposed plane surfaces of the same or different material, one or both surfaces having open channels and/or cavities, bonding is effected by applying to one or both element surfaces (1, 2) a thin layer (3) of a solution of a material capable of fusing with and having a lower melting point than that of the material or materials of the two element surfaces (1, 2) in a solvent which substantially does not dissolve the element surface material or materials. The solvent is then removed, and the two elements (1, 2) are brought together and heated to a temperature where the dissolved material is caused to melt but not the element surface material or materials.

Abstract: A gel cassette for electrophoresis includes opposed plastic plates holding a gel therebetween. An upper buffer tank can be adhered to one of the plates by double backed tape that is sandwiched between the tank and plate, thereby avoiding the use of a rubber sealing gasket between the tank and plate. As a result, the distance between the tank and the plate is kept constant. A buffer solution in the tank communicates with the gel. The cassette can then be placed in a lower buffer tank and an electric field applied to the buffer solutions to effect electrophoresis of DNA fragments that have been placed in the gel. In an alternate embodiment, a window is formed in one of the plastic plates to allow laser light to pass into the cassette and excite a fluorescent tag in the DNA. The fluorescence then passes back through the window for detection by a sensor, to automatically determine the DNA sequence of the sample in the gel in accordance with auto DNA sequencing principles.

Abstract: A device for fractionating macromolecules in a fluid medium includes a plurality of individual obstacles which are arranged on a substrate in rows and columns. An electric field is provided and oriented to move the macromolecules in migration through fluid channels that are established between the columns of obstacles. Each obstacle has mutually symmetrical right and left front walls which are inclined to a respective fluid channel. Consequently, as macromolecules diffuse through the fluid medium from a fluid channel during their migration through the device, the front walls of the obstacles redirect them back into the same fluid channel from which they diffused. As a result, the faster diffusing, smaller macromolecules take longer to migrate through the fluid channels of the device. Eventually, because the diffusion rate of the macromolecules depends on their size, the positions of the macromolecules in the device reflect their respective diffusion rates, and therefore their size.

Abstract: An automated electrophoretic system is disclosed. The system employs a capillary cartridge having a plurality of capillary tubes. The cartridge has a first array of capillary ends projecting from one side of a plate. The first array of capillary ends are spaced apart in substantially the same manner as the wells of a microtitre tray of standard size. This allows one to simultaneously perform capillary electrophoresis on samples present in each of the wells of the tray. The system includes a stacked, dual carousel arrangement to eliminate cross-contamination resulting from reuse of the same buffer tray on consecutive executions from electrophoresis. The system also has a gel delivery module containing a gel syringe/a stepper motor or a high pressure chamber with a pump to quickly and uniformly deliver gel through the capillary tubes. The system further includes a multi-wavelength beam generator to generate a laser beam which produces a beam with a wide range of wavelengths.

Abstract: In acordance with the teachings of the present invention, there are provided mathods, gels, and transferring devices for loading gels. The mathods and devices of the present invention involve the use of ultra-thin, miniature, disposable, slab gels for the quick, inexpensive and high resolution analysis of polynucleotide samples.

Abstract: This invention is an integrated instrument for the high-capacity electrophoretic analysis of biopolymer samples. It comprises a specialized high-voltage, electrophoretic module in which the migration lanes are formed between a bottom plate and a plurality of etched grooves in a top plate, the module permitting concurrent separation of 80 or more separate samples. In thermal contact with the bottom plate is a thermal control module incorporating a plurality of Peltier heat transfer devices for the control of temperature and gradients in the electrophoretic medium. Fragments are detected by a transmission imaging spectrograph which simultaneously spatially focuses and spectrally resolves the detection region of all the migration lanes. The spectrograph comprises a transmission dispersion element and a CCD array to detect signals. Signal analysis comprises the steps of noise filtering, comparison in a configuration space with signal prototypes, and selection of the best prototype.

Abstract: A gel for electrophoresis in a horizontal mode which contains at least one sample well with an enlarged loading area that is formed in an elevated gel segment. At least a front wall of the sample well consists of a substantially vertical part and a non-vertical part, where the non-vertical part is declined at an angle sufficiently steep that the sample loaded on the non-vertical part slides down into the sample well. Any sample molecules that during electrophoresis enter the gel through the non vertical part of the front wall migrate only through the elevated gel segment. They also exit this segment, so that substantially no double bands, which could complicate the interpretation of experimental results, are detected.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an electrophoretic method to effect differential net migration, the extent of said migration being dependent on molecular size, of electrically charged macromolecules through a gel support in a single dimension, which method comprises subjecting electrically charged macromolecules applied to a gel support to an electric field oriented along a single axis within the gel for a time period sufficient to effect migration in the direction of the oriented field and form a separation pattern in order of the respective molecular weights of the macromolecules in a distance of about 0.5 to about 20 millimeters, said gel support comprising about 3 to about 40 percent polyacrylamide, said electric field being applied in an amount of about 5 to about 100 volts per millimeter of gel support along the axis length, and said gel support having a width perpendicular to said axis of about 0.1 to 1.5 millimeters.

Abstract: A microchip laboratory system and method proved fluid manipulations for a variety of applications, including sample injection for microchip chemical separations. The microchip is fabricated using standard photolithographic procedures and chemical wet etching, with the substrate and cover plate joined using direct bonding. Capillary electrophoresis and electrochromatography are performed in channels formed in the substrate. Analytes are loaded into a four-way intersection of channels by electrokinetically pumping the analyte through the intersection, followed by switching of the potentials to force an analyte plug into the separation channel.

Abstract: A microchip laboratory system and method provide fluid manipulations for a variety of applications, including sample injection for microchip chemical separations. The microchip is fabricated using standard photolithographic procedures and chemical wet etching, with the substrate and cover plate joined using direct bonding. Capillary electrophoresis and electrochromatography are performed in channels formed in the substrate. Analytes are loaded into a four-way intersection of channels by electrokinetically pumping the analyte through the intersection, followed by switching of the potentials to force an analyte plug into the separation channel.

Abstract: The subject invention provides methods and kits for conveniently diagnosing various physiological conditions that produce altered levels of specific carbohydrates, known as diagnostic carbohydrates. Measurement of the levels of the diagnostic carbohydrates is performed by fluorophore assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis. Physiological conditions of particular interest that may be ascertained by the subject invention include carbohydrate metabolism diseases, autoimmune diseases, neoplasia, toxic chemical exposure and microbial infections. Fluorophore assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis diagnosis may be applied to various patient specimens, including blood, urine and skin.