Automated system for two-dimensional electrophoresis
First Claim
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1. A method of scanning a stained clectrophoresis gel, said method comprises the steps of:
- a) immersing said stained gel in a thin planar cavity filled with a liquid having a refractive index similar to that of said gel, wherein at least one side of said stained gel contacts said liquid;
b) introducing an illuminating light into said cavity approximately in the plane of said stained gel, wherein said illuminating light is substantially internally reflected in said cavity and thereby prevented from exiting said cavity normal to a plane of said stained gel; and
c) positioning an optical scanner such that said stained gel is viewed from outside of said cavity along a line of sight normal to said stained gel.
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Abstract
The present invention provides an integrated, fully automated, high-throughput system for two-dimensional electrophoresis comprised of gel-making machines, gel processing machines, gel compositions and geometries, gel handling systems, sample preparation systems, software and methods. The system is capable of continuous operation at high-throughput to allow construction of large quantitative data sets.
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10 Claims
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1. A method of scanning a stained clectrophoresis gel, said method comprises the steps of:
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a) immersing said stained gel in a thin planar cavity filled with a liquid having a refractive index similar to that of said gel, wherein at least one side of said stained gel contacts said liquid;
b) introducing an illuminating light into said cavity approximately in the plane of said stained gel, wherein said illuminating light is substantially internally reflected in said cavity and thereby prevented from exiting said cavity normal to a plane of said stained gel; and
c) positioning an optical scanner such that said stained gel is viewed from outside of said cavity along a line of sight normal to said stained gel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
a) positioning a light absorbing surface on an opposite side of said gel from said scanner; and
b) differentiating a plurality of stained features on said gel from background by a greater or a lesser scattering of said illuminating light in a direction of said scanner, wherein said gel is stained with a particulate stain.
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6. A method of establishing relative quantitation of proteins resolved in an clectrophoresis gel, said method comprising steps of:
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a) staining said gel such that a plurality of optical properties of a plurality of protein-containing regions in said gel are progressively changed during a period of time;
b) optically scanning the stained gel from step (a) two or more times during said period wherein said scanning comprises i) immersing said stained gel in a thin planar cavity filled with a liquid having a refractive index similar to that of said stained gel, wherein at least one side of said gel contacts said liquid ii) introducing an illuminating light into said cavity approximately in the plane of said stained gel, wherein said illuminating light is substantially internally reflected in said cavity and thereby prevented from exiting said cavity normal to a plane of said stained gel, and iii) positioning, an optical scanner such that said stained gel is viewed from outside of said cavity along a line of sight normal to said stained gel;
c) measuring each of said optical properties as a function of time and recording a time sequence for said optical properties;
d) deriving a mathematical index from said time sequence; and
e) calculating relative protein abundance of said stained gel or other useful property of said stained gel from said index. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of establishing relative quantitation of proteins resolved in an electrophoresis gel wherein
a) staining said gel by two or more staining procedures to reveal said proteins; -
b) optically scanning said the stained gel from step (a) to detect a plurality of stain results after or during each of said staining procedure, wherein said scanning comprises i) immersing said stained gel in a thin planar cavity filled with a liquid having a refractive index similar to that of said stained gel, wherein at least one side of said stained gel contacts said liquid, ii) introducing an illuminating light into said cavity approximately in the plane of said stained gel, wherein said illuminating light is substantially internally reflected in said cavity and thereby prevented from exiting said cavity normal to a plane of said gel, and iii) positioning an optical scanner such that said gel is viewed from outside of said cavity along a line of sight normal to said gel; and
c) collectively interpreting said stain results by means of a plurality of mathematical equations to determine a single measure of protein abundance.
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Specification