COMPACT, BUFFERLESS GELS FOR CLINICAL APPLICATIONS

WE WILL DEVELOP AN INEXPENSIVE, DISPOSABLE DEVICE FOR RAPID ACRYLAMIDE OR AGAROSE GEL ELECTROPHORETIC SEPARATION OF DNA, RNA OR PROTEIN WHICH DOES NOT REQUIRE RUNNING BUFFER OR USER PERFORMED STEPS OTHER THAN SAMPLE APPLICATION AND CONNECTION OF ELECTRICAL LEADS. THE DEVICE CONSISTS OF A THIN, DISPOSABLE GEL AND HOLDER WHICH, WITH THE AID OF A SIMPLE POWER SUPPLY, CAN ACCOMPLISH THE PROCESS OF GEL ELECTROPHORETIC RESOLUTION OF DNA OR RNA IN LESS THAN TWENTY MINUTES. THIS PRODUCT COULD BE USED IN CLINICAL LABORATORIES WHERE DIAGNOSTIC TESTS BASED ON GENE AMPLIFICATION TECHNOLOGY ARE USED, SUCH AS THE DETECTION AND QUALIFICATION DNA RESULTING FROM GENE AMPLIFICATION OF HIV OR PAPILLOMA VIRUS. THE PRODUCT COULD ALSO BE USED IN RESEARCH LABORATORIES. WORKING PROTOTYPES HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED WHICH ALLOW CLEAR RESOLUTION OF DNA RANGING FROM 50 TO 2000 BASE PAIRS WITH ACRYLAMIDE GELS AND 250 TO 12,000 BASE PAIRS WITH AGAROSE GELS. A MORE ELABORATE PROTOTYPE CAN PERFORM SOUTHERN AND WESTERN TRANSFER BLOTS ON THE MOLECULES RESOLVED BY THE DISPOSABLE SEPARATION GEL USING THE SAME BUFFERLESS TECHNOLOGY AND APPARATUS, DESCRIBED ABOVE. THE PROTOTYPE DEVICE USES A UNIQUE KIND OF SEMI-DRY GEL ELECTROPHORESIS THAT INCORPORATES ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE PLASTIC IN PLACE OF BOTH THE RUNNING BUFFER AND ELECTRODES. THE SELF-CONTAINED CASSETTE CAN BE OPERATED AT VOLTAGES THAT ALLOW A RUN TIME OF TWENTY MINUES AND SUBSEQUENT TRANSFER TO HYBRIDIZATIN MEMBRANE IN AN ADDITIONAL 15 MINUTES USING ONE GEL HOLDER DEVICE.