Automated two-dimensional electrophoresis system

Fully Automated Two-Dimensional Electrophoresis System for High-Throughput Protein Analysis... 

Hiratsuka, A., Kinoshita, H., Maruo, Y., Taka-hashi, K, Akutsu, S., Hayashida, C., Sakairi, K, Usui, K, Shiseki, K., Inamochi, H., Nakada, Y., Yodoya, K., Namatame, L, Unuma, Y., Nakamura, M., Ueyama, K, Ishii, Y., Yano, K, Yokoyama, K. (2007) Fully automated two-dimensional electrophoresis system for high-throughput protein analysis. Anal Chem. 79,5730-5739... 

A fully automated two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) system for rapid and reproducible protein analysis is described. 2DE that is a combination of isoelectric focusing (lEE) and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) is widely used for protein expression analysis. Here, all the operations are achieved in a shorter time and all the transferring procedures are performed automatically. The system completed the entire process within 1.5 h. A device configuration, operational procedure, and data analysis are described using this system. 

Key words High-throughput assay. Two-dimensional electrophoresis. Automation, System, Simultaneous detection. Protein... 

IEF is the conventional method for protein separation in two-dimensional (2D) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and is considered one of the most powerful techniques available for separating proteins. However, IEF in gels is a time-consuming technique. Hjerten and Zhu, therefore, adapted IEF to fused-silica capillaries, so-called capillary IEF (cIEF), to minimize analysis times. No gels are used in cIEF instead, the capillary is filled with ampholytes in free solution to create the pH gradient. This technique is also called liquid-phase IEF. Additional advantages of cIEF are the potential for system automation and the possibility of on-line detection. 

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