HIGH-RESOLUTION, TWO-DIMENSIONAL ELECTROPHORESIS CONSTITUTESTHE MOST POWERFUL TOOL AVAILABLE FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX PROTEIN MIXTURES.

HIGH-RESOLUTION, TWO-DIMENSIONAL ELECTROPHORESIS CONSTITUTESTHE MOST POWERFUL TOOL AVAILABLE FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX PROTEIN MIXTURES. THE TECHNIQUE HAS PROVEN EXTREMELY USEFUL IN A VARIETY OF AREAS, INCLUDING COMPARISON OF CELL TYPES, COMPARISON OF SPECIES, ANALYSIS OFDIFFERENTIATION, AND THE SEARCH FOR GENETIC VARIANTS. IN MANY APPLICATIONS, IT IS NECESSARY TO EXAMINE MODERATELY LARGE NUMBERS OF SAMPLES UNDER CONDITIONS THAT PROVIDE VERY HIGH ANALYTICAL REPRODUCIBILITY. SUCH REPRODUCIBILITY COULDBEST BE ACHIEVED USING AUTOMATED SYSTEMS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BOTH FIRST- AND SECOND-DIMENSION GELS. THIS PROJECT DEALS WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MICROCOMPUTER-CONTROLLED PUMPING DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED GEL-FORMING HARDWARE FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRODUCING LARGE NUMBERS OF VERY REPRODUCIBLE SDS ACRYLAMIDE GRADIENT SLAB GELS. THIS DEVICE CAN MAKE A MAJORCONTRIBUTION TOWARDS STANDARDIZING THE 2-D ELECTROPHORETIC TECHNIQUE, AND THUS FACILITATE THE CONSTRUCTION AND USE OF COMPREHENSIVE PROTEIN INDEXES.