Isoelectric focusing transfer technique

Amino acid analysis is often touted as the most accurate method for determination of protein concentration. The data from this 1996 ABRF AAA study indicate that the vast majority of member facilities that participated in this study quantitate soluble protein well. The most striking aspect of this study, however, was the ability of the laboratories to identify the protein solely on its amino acid composition. The data from approximately 90% of the participants were sufficient for correct identification, if one knew the species of the protein s origin. Currently, identification of unknown proteins from AAA data is not frequently used for simple soluble proteins, such as triosephosphate isomerase. The technique is more commonly used to identify proteins that have been separated by two dimensional analysis on isoelectric focusing and SDS electrophoresis and then transferred to PVDF membranes. Such samples are usually present in low... 

In microfluidic-based systems, material is transported within microstructures (of typical dimensions of 10-500 pm) where separations, reactions, and other processes occur. Focus has been on the realization of the traditional separation techniques (electrophoresis, chromatography, isoelectric focusing, etc.) and reactions in the microchip format. The principles of separation, as in the conventional formats, are based on differences in mass and charge (thus mobility) and partitioning between phases. However, advantages associated with the small dimensions provide superior performance. For example, the higher surface to volume ratio arising from the smaller dimensions results in lower heat and mass transfer resistances and thus an improved performance. 

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