Multiple arm apparatus and methods for separation of particles
AssigneeThe University of British Columbia
InventorsAndrea Marziali, Joel Pel
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Abstract
The invention provides apparatus for separation of particles and methods for using the apparatus. In an embodiment, the apparatus includes three arms extending radially from a central reservoir, each arm being associated with a separation electrode. At least one on the arms includes a separation medium. Using a sequence of driving and mobility-changing voltages, target particles can be separated from closely related particles within a sample. For example, single point mutations can be resolved from a sample containing predominantly wild type nucleic acids.
Claims20
An apparatus for separating particles comprising:
- at least three electrodes circumferentially surrounding a central reservoir, with a separation medium between at least one electrode and the central reservoir.
A method for separating target and background particles comprising:
- providing a central reservoir and n separation arms containing a separation medium extending outwardly from the reservoir;
- loading a sample on at least one of the separation arms;
- applying an electric field that is low in n−1 of the separation arms and high in one of the separation arms;
- and
- varying the configuration of the applied electric field a plurality of times so that on average the electric field is high in each one of the n separation arms 1/n of the time and low in each one of the n separation arms (n−1)/n of the time, wherein n is at least 3.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.