Electrophoresis power

An electrophoresis unit (e.g., Multiphor II with MultiTemp III and electrophoresis power supply EPS 3500 XL, Pharmacia Biotech, Freiburg, Germany) and a scanner with software for densitometry (e.g., AIDA, Raytest, Straubenhardt, Germany). 

Agarose and ethidium bromide powder from Sigma-Aldrich for gel electrophoresis using Amilabo electrophoresis power supply ST 1006T. 

Figure 27-31. An electrophoresis power supply, Pharmacia model EPS 3500 XL.

Berg, C., Valdez, D.C., Bergeron, P., Mora, M.F., Garcia, C.D., and Ayon, A. (2008) Lab-on-a-robot integrated microchip - Capillary electrophoresis, power supply, potentiostat, wireless unit, and controller circuitry. Electrophoresis, 29,4914-4921. 

Gel electrophoresis apparatus, digital electrophoresis power supply. 

Electrokinetic experiments were run for 24 hours, a 25 mA cm-2 electrical current density was imposed with an electrophoresis power supply FR500-125 BIOELEC. Electrode arrangement considered keeping constant a bare RVC cathode, and switching the anode from bare RVC to RVC-Ti02, recorded parameters correspond to pH and electric conductivity measured with a Multipurpose Lab Interphase Vernier Software electroosmotic flow was registered with an illuminated multitester MUL-270 Steren. 

There are several forms of electrophoresis. In slab gel electrophoresis the conducting buffer is retained within a porous gel of agarose or polyacrylamide. Slabs are formed by pouring the gel between two glass plates separated by spacers. Typical thicknesses are 0.25-1 mm. Gel electrophoresis is an important technique in biochemistry, in which it is frequently used for DNA sequencing. Although it is a powerful tool for the qualitative analysis of complex mixtures, it is less useful for quantitative work. 

The basic instrumentation for capillary electrophoresis is shown in Figure 12.41 and includes a power supply for applying the electric field, anode and cathode compartments containing reservoirs of the buffer solution, a sample vial containing the sample, the capillary tube, and a detector. Each part of the instrument receives further consideration in this section. 

Capillary Electrophoresis. Capillary electrophoresis (ce) or capillary 2one electrophoresis (c2e), a relatively recent addition to the arsenal of analytical techniques (20,21), has also been demonstrated as a powerful chiral separation method. Its high resolution capabiUty and lower sample loading relative to hplc makes it ideal for the separation of minute amounts of components in complex biological mixtures (22,23). 

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) is a two-dimensional technique for protein separation, which combines isoelectric focusing and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) electrophoresis. The high resolving power results from separation according to charge (isoelectric point) in the first dimension and size (mobility in a porous gel) in the second dimension. Depending on the gel size, from several hundred to more than 5,000 proteins can be separated. 

The second step in 2D electrophoresis is to separate proteins based on molecular weight using SDS-PAGE. Individual proteins are then visualized by Coomassie or silver staining techniques or by autoradiography. Because 2D gel electrophoresis separate proteins based on independent physical characteristics, it is a powerful means to resolve complex mixtures proteins (Fig. 2.1). Modem large-gel formats are reproducible and are the most common method for protein separation in proteomic studies. 

Figure 3.1. Protein expression mapping using 2-D electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. The purpose is to compare protein expression patterns between cell types or in the same cell type under different growth conditions. Proteins are extracted from the different cell types and separated by 2D gel electrophoresis. Image analysis programs are used to compare the spot intensities between gels and identify proteins that are differentially expressed. The protein of interest is excised from the gel and its identity is determined by mass spectrometry. The power of the method increases greatly if the identity of a large number of proteins on the gel is known and present in a database because information can then be obtained without further mass spectrometry.

The difficulty with protein arrays is that proteins do not behave as uniformly as nucleic acid. Protein function is dependent on a precise, and fragile, three-dimensional structure that may be difficult to maintain in an array format. In addition, the strength and stability of interactions between proteins are not nearly as standardized as nucleic acid hybridization. Each protein-protein interaction is unique and could assume a wide range of affinities. Currently, protein expression mapping is performed almost exclusively by two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. The development of protein arrays, however, could provide another powerful... 

Table 1 summarizes several of the experimental methods discussed in this chapter. A need exists for new or revised methods for transport experimentation, particularly for therapeutic proteins or peptides in polymeric systems. An important criterion for the new or revised methods includes in situ sampling using micro techniques which simultaneously sample, separate, and analyze the sample. For example, capillary zone electrophoresis provides a micro technique with high separation resolution and the potential to measure the mobilities and diffusion coefficients of the diffusant in the presence of a polymer. Combining the separation and analytical components adds considerable power and versatility to the method. In addition, up-to-date separation instrumentation is computer-driven, so that methods development is optimized, data are acquired according to a predetermined program, and data analysis is facilitated. 

Innovations in separation science continued on this theme and provided one of the most powerful separation techniques used in biochemistry, where proteins are separated with isoelectric focusing (IEF) applied in one direction, and gel electrophoresis (GE) applied at aright angle to the first separation direction (O Farrell, 1975 Celis and Bravo, 1984). In this case, proteins are first separated according to their isoelectric point, measured in p/units, and then according to their molecular weight by gel electrophoresis. The size separation step is usually aided by addition of a surfactant, most typically sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and the gel material is a polyacrylamide formulation. 

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