Method of electrophoretic purification of enzymes and peptides by means of an adjustable, specialized, geometrically located electrode system

Abstract

The method of electrophoretic purification of enzymes & peptides which is a continuous, modularized, one-step operation. The method enables the user to secure a high purification of enzymes and peptides simultaneously as it allows their purification on a large scale, the process is modularized with interchangeable parts and contains several divergent configurations such as diagonal linear electrodes, point or ball electrodes, parabolic electrodes, arced electrodes, and other geometrically shaped electrodes. The modularization permits the easy insertion and removal of different geometrically shaped electrodes which allow a multifunctional versatile implementation and application of electrophoresis in the purification of electrically charged biomolecules. The different geometrically shaped electrodes also permit potentially different gradients, thereby enabling different particle velocities, finer separations, and continuous electrophoresis, by means of a higher voltage, in a smaller area, with a decrease in power expenditure. The method includes such innovative features as automatic switching, and repetitive & selective operation of the divergent geometrically shaped electrode systems. The automatic switching consists of electronic circuits which alternately select the various electrode systems to be turned on and off at a given time independently of one another, for a given duration of time, in order to maintain a clearly defined electrical field distribution, or gradient, along the width and length of the gel. The repetitive & selective operation of the divergent geometrically shaped electrode systems enable the selection of the most suitable geometrically shaped electrode system to obtain optimum separation in the purification of particular electrically charged biomolecules.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.