Abstract: A dehydrated reconstitutable polyacrylamide material for use as a polyacrylamide gel sample in electrophoretic analysis is provided. The dehydrated reconstitutable material includes a stabilizer material and excludes a buffer salt. The dehydrated reconstitutable polyacrylamide material is storable at ambient temperature without substantial loss of potency for at least about 120 days.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method and system for producing a polyacrylamide gel sample typically for use in electrophoretic analysis. The subject method includes providing a container comprising a bottle and cap assembly for conducting a gel formation sequence. The cap assembly includes a storage compartment. A plurality of premixed chemical materials are employed for producing a polyacrylamide gel used to make the gel samples. The container includes a bottle for storing an acrylamide solution and a cap assembly for storing the premixed chemical materials in dry particulate form therewithin. The cap is located atop the bottle. The premixed chemical materials are stored in the bottle and in the storage compartment for subsequently producing the acrylamide gel solution in situ within the confines of the container so that the step of transferring of the gel stock solutions to an auxiliary container is avoided.

Abstract: A method for spectrophotometric measurement of amyloid degrading activity in serum or tissue is disclosed. The method involves first binding a dye to a purified amyloid protein. Preferably, the dye and the amyloid bind stably, yet reversibly, so that the bond is disrupted and the dye is released when the bound amyloid is degraded by amyloid degrading factors (ADF) present in serum or tissue. Preferably, the dye is Congo red. The composition comprising a dye bound to a purified amyloid protein is mixed with serum or tissue homogenate to form a reaction mixture. Degradation of the amyloid by ADF disrupts the dye/amyloid bond causing dye to be released into a supernatant solution where its concentration and amount are spectrophotometrically determined. The amount of the amyloid degraded is calculated based upon the quantity of the dye found in the supernatant.