Isoelectric focusing tray and electrode assembly for alternate gel strip orientations
AssigneeBio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
InventorEvelio Perez
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The procedures involved in isoelectric focusing that entail the use of an electric current can be performed with the gel side of the IPG strip facing either up or down in a tray and electrode assembly in which the electrodes are mounted on an insert from which the inner ends of the electrodes extend into the troughs to reside either below the IPG strips or above them. Slots in one part (either the insert or the tray) mate with walls or partitions in the other part to secure the two parts together, and the heights of the electrodes within the troughs of the tray can be adjusted by the height of the insert in the tray or by a resilient mounting of the electrode to the insert.
Claims25
Apparatus for isoelectric focusing in a plurality of gel strips, said apparatus comprising:
- a frame with a plurality of electrodes mounted thereto, each electrode terminating in an inner electrode end having upper and lower surfaces both of which comprise exposed electrode material;
- and
- a tray having a plurality of troughs, each said trough having a floor, said troughs sized and spaced to receive one gel strip per trough and one inner electrode end lying either above or below said gel strip;
- wherein when said inner electrode ends are received within said troughs, said inner electrode end of each of said electrodes is variable in height between a zero height in which said inner electrode end directly contacts said floor while allowing a gel strip to rest on said upper surface and a finite height in which said lower surface is raised above said floor by a distance sufficient to receive a gel strip with said lower surface contacting an upper side of said gel strip.
A method for performing isoelectric focusing on a plurality of samples in individual isoelectric focusing gel strips either simultaneously or independently in a single gel strip holder, said method comprising:
- (a) placing said gel strips in troughs of a tray having a plurality of troughs, each trough having a floor and sized to receive one gel strip resting on said floor;
- (b) either before or after step (a), applying said samples to said gel strips, with one sample per gel strip;
- (c) either before, after, or between steps (a) and (b), placing a frame on said tray, said frame having a plurality of electrodes mounted thereto, each electrode terminating in an inner electrode end having parallel upper and lower surfaces both of which comprise exposed electrode material, said inner electrode ends sized and spaced to fit within said troughs with one inner electrode end per trough and both upper and lower surfaces within said trough, such that upon completion of steps (a), (b), and (c) each said gel strip is in direct contact with a single inner electrode end;
- and
- (d) imposing an electric potential across each said strip through said contact between said strip and said inner electrode end to separate solutes in said samples along said gel strips by isoelectric focusing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.