Method and devices for running reactions on a target plate for MALDI mass spectrometry
First Claim
1. A method of transferring molecules of interest from an electrophoretic polymer gel to a MALDI target plate comprising the steps of:
- (i) providing an electrophoretic gel containing one or more molecules of interest;
(ii) replacing water within the electrophoretic gel with a cosolvent mixture;
(iii) positioning a pin over the gel and penetrating the gel with the pin;
(iv) energizing the pin to deplete the gel in a region surrounding the one or more molecules of interest, causing the cosolvent mixture to surround the one or more molecules of interest;
(v) lifting the pin out of the gel, the pin carrying a drop of the cosolvent mixture containing the one or more molecules of interest; and
(vi) contacting a MALDI target plate with the pin, the contacting causing the drop of cosolvent mixture containing the one or more molecules of interest to be deposited on the MALDI target plate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A peptide or protein microassay method and apparatus in which a wide variety of chromogenic or fluorogenic peptide or protein substrates of interest are individually suspended or dissolved in a hydrophilic carrier, with aliquots of each substrate being deposited in an array or microarray of reaction loci, or “dots.” Each dot, therefore, provides an individual reaction vessel containing the peptide or protein of interest, to which a biological sample may be applied for assay purposes. The sample is applied to the array or microarray of dots by one of a variety of focused sample application techniques, including aerosolizing or misting of the sample, or target application of the sample, onto each dot without creating fluid channels between the dots which would cause cross-contamination. In additional aspects, the present invention provides methods of transferring samples from an electrophoretic gel to a target plate for subsequent MALDI MS analysis. Chemical reactions of interest can be run directly on the target plate, and the reaction products on the target are then prepared for MALDI MS analysis by drying and aerosol deposition of matrix material, without the need for salt removal and additional processing steps.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of transferring molecules of interest from an electrophoretic polymer gel to a MALDI target plate comprising the steps of:
- (i) providing an electrophoretic gel containing one or more molecules of interest;
(ii) replacing water within the electrophoretic gel with a cosolvent mixture;
(iii) positioning a pin over the gel and penetrating the gel with the pin;
(iv) energizing the pin to deplete the gel in a region surrounding the one or more molecules of interest, causing the cosolvent mixture to surround the one or more molecules of interest;
(v) lifting the pin out of the gel, the pin carrying a drop of the cosolvent mixture containing the one or more molecules of interest; and
(vi) contacting a MALDI target plate with the pin, the contacting causing the drop of cosolvent mixture containing the one or more molecules of interest to be deposited on the MALDI target plate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
- (i) providing an electrophoretic gel containing one or more molecules of interest;
Specification