SOLID-STATE DETECTOR FOR CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS

GEL ELECTROPHORESIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND WIDELY USED ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE SEQUENCE OF DNA. RECENTLY, THERE HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT ADVANCE IN ELECTROPHORESIS TECHNOLOGY THROUGH THE USE OF GEL GEOMETRIES INVOLVING THIN CAPILLARY TUBES. THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN DEVELOPED INTO A NEW SEPARATION TECHNIQUE, CAPILLARY ZONE ELECTROPHORESIS (CZE), WHICH PROVIDES MUCH GREATER RESOLUTION THAN TRADITIONAL GELS AND RUN SPEEDS AS MUCH AS AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE FASTER THAN THAT ACHIEVABLE WITH THE TRADITIONAL FLAT PLATE GEOMETRY. THE CZE TECHNOLOGY IS CURRENTLY OF VERY HIGH INTEREST BECAUSE IT APPEARS TO MAKE POSSIBLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW, HIGH-SPEED INSTRUMENTATION FOR DNA SEQUENCING. HOWEVER, TO MAKE FULL USE OF THIS NEW, POWERFUL SEPARATION TECHNIQUE,SEVERAL ASPECTS OF THE TECHNOLOGY REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. THIS RESEARCH ADDRESSES THE NEED FOR AN IMPROVED DETECTOR SYSTEM THAT WILL ALLOW CZE TO BE USED MORE EFFECTIVELY FOR DNA SEQUENCING.