Micro-electrophoresis chip for moving and separating nucleic acids and other charged molecules
First Claim
1. A microelectrophoresis chip comprising a substrate having formed therein at least one separation channel for performing separation formed on a first major surface, two or more electrodes disposed within the channel to induce an electric field within the channel, characterized in that the channel contains a homogeneous separation medium effective to act as obstacles to migration of biopolymers in a sample applied to the microelectrophoresis chip and in that the microelectrophoresis chip further comprises a detector element disposed on the chip for observation of migrating biopolymers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A microelectrophoresis chip comprises a substrate in which there are formed one or more channels, one channel for each sample to be evaluated. The channels extend for the length of the chip, a distance of generally around 1 cm, and are about 1 to 10 μm wide and 1 to 10 μm in depth. The channels are filed with a homogeneous separation matrix which acts as an obstacle to the electrophoretic migration of the charged molecules. Microelectrodes disposed in the channels are used to induce an electric filed within the homogeneous separation medium. When a voltage is applied across two or more of the microelectrodes, the charged molecules are induced to move and separate according to the electric field density, the type of solvent film, and the charge, shape and size of the charged molecule. The chip may further comprise detectors, such as light polarization detectors, fluorescence omission detectors, biosensors, electrochemical sensors or other microcomponents which may include sites for enzymatic or chemical manipulation of the moved or separated charged molecules.
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23 Claims
- 1. A microelectrophoresis chip comprising a substrate having formed therein at least one separation channel for performing separation formed on a first major surface, two or more electrodes disposed within the channel to induce an electric field within the channel, characterized in that the channel contains a homogeneous separation medium effective to act as obstacles to migration of biopolymers in a sample applied to the microelectrophoresis chip and in that the microelectrophoresis chip further comprises a detector element disposed on the chip for observation of migrating biopolymers.
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23. A microelectrophoresis chip comprising a substrate having formed therein at least one separation channel for performing separation formed on a first major surface, a plurality of anodes and a plurality of cathodes disposed within each separation channel to induce an electric Field within the channel, characterized in that the channel contains a homogeneous separation medium effective to act as obstacles to migration of biopolymers in a sample applied to the microelectrophoresis chip and in that the plurality of anodes and the plurality of cathodes are disposed to generate electric fields in at least two non-parallel directions.
Specification