Chemistry: electrical and wave energy – Apparatus – Coating – forming or etching by sputtering
Patent
1993-12-09
1995-04-18
Niebling, John
Chemistry: electrical and wave energy
Apparatus
Coating, forming or etching by sputtering
B01D 6142
Patent
active
054075521
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrophoresis device.
Electrophoresis is a technique used for the analysis and separation of molecules of different sizes and chemical natures such as nucleic acids, amino-acids, proteins, etc.
The technique is based on the fact that, under the effect of an electric field, molecules of this type migrate within a substrate medium at different speeds according to their charge density and their size.
Electrophoresis is generally carried out on a solid substrate such as a gel, for example, a polyacrylamide or agarose gel, within which the molecules to be analysed or separated migrate at different speeds.
After a given migration period, during which the molecules are subject to the effect of an electric field, they are displaced within the substrate by a given distance which is proportional to their speed of migration and which is therefore correlated to their charge density and their size.
With the use of a suitable dye, the regions reached by the different types of molecules at the end of a given period can be displayed in the form of bands.
Up to the present time, truly automated electrophoresis has not been possible, in particular, because of the difficulty of preparing the substrates necessary for the application of this method.
Polyacrylamide gels which are pre-poured onto a support plate of plastics material are already known. However, these substrates are only suitable for so-called "horizontal" electrophoresis, in which the plates are disposed horizontally.
For so-called "vertical" electrophoresis, in which the support plates are disposed vertically, two glass plates and two glass inserts, which are greased and then assembled and held together by suitable means such as an adhesive tape, are generally used.
A comb is then placed at one end of the support produced and a gel is poured into the space between the two glass plates.
The manufacture of the support plates requires a large number of operations which is not compatible with the automation of the electrophoresis technique.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is, in particular, to overcome the problems mentioned above.
A particular object of the invention is to obtain an electrophoresis device which provides all the means necessary for the automated implementation of an electrophoresis technique.
According to an essential characteristic of the invention, the electrophoresis device comprises a one-piece cassette filled with a suitable gels which may possibly be dyed, the cassette being produced from a length of hollow profiled section having two opposed open faces, of which one is blocked by a removable comb which can form impressions in the gel, and the other by a detachable cover.
The support thus obtained can be produced on a large scale, and therefore cheaply, and can be delivered to the user ready for use.
The cassette is advantageously in the general form of a right-angled parallelepiped defined by two large, parallel and opposed faces disposed close to each other and joined together by two small, parallel and opposed faces.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the cassette comprises a lateral cut-out portion opening into the open face which receives the removable comb, the lateral cut-out portion also being blocked by the comb when the latter is placed on the aforementioned open face.
When the comb has been removed from the cassette, the lateral cut-out portion thereof is thus uncovered to allow electrical contact with the gel at the corresponding end of the cassette, as will be seen below.
Another electrical contact can be made at the other end of the cassette, after the detachable cover has been removed.
The cover is advantageously ultrasound-welded to the corresponding open face of the cassette.
The cassette is advantageously produced from an extruded profile of a plastics material which is transparent to ultraviolet rays.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the device also comprises two tanks, each sui
REFERENCES:
patent: 3932265 (1976-01-01), Hoefer
patent: 3980540 (1976-09-01), Hoefer
patent: 4035377 (1977-07-01), Detroy
patent: 4142960 (1979-03-01), Hahn et al.
patent: 4339327 (1982-07-01), Tyler
patent: 4715942 (1987-12-01), Tezuka et al.
patent: 4915811 (1990-04-01), Yamamoto et al.
Bioprobe Systems
Niebling John
Wong Edna
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