Capillary electrophoresis apparatus and method
View Patent ↗An electrophoresis apparatus is provided in which negative effects caused by abnormalities in a current-carrying path in an electrophoresis apparatus can be avoided or reduced. The current flowing in the current-carrying path during electrophoresis can be measured to detect the state of a separating medium, and the application of a voltage to the current-carrying path can be interrupted.
1. A method of performing electrophoresis utilizing a capillary, the method comprising:
filling the capillary with a separating medium;
applying a voltage to a current-carrying path including the separating medium prior to performing electrophoresis, the applied voltage being smaller than a voltage that is applied during electrophoresis;
detecting a first value of the electric current flowing in the current-carrying path;
determining a state of the current-carrying path based on the first value of the electric current that is detected;
performing electrophoresis while detecting a second value of the electric current flowing in the separating medium after determining that a state of the current-carrying path is suitable for electrophoresis; and
terminating performing electrophoresis based on the detected second value of the electric current,
wherein electrophoresis is terminated when a rate of change of the detected second value of the electric current has exceeded a predetermined value.
2. The electrophoresis method of claim 1 , wherein the state that the current-carrying path is not suitable for electrophoresis is determined when the first value of the electric current that is detected is smaller than a predetermined value.
3. The electrophoresis method of claim 1 , wherein the voltage that is applied to the current-carrying path is smaller than a voltage that produces electric discharge when the capillary is not filled with the separating medium, or when a buffer-solution container forming part of the current-carrying path does not contain an appropriate amount of a buffer solution.
4. The electrophoresis method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined value is determined based on at least one of a length of a capillary, the number of capillaries, the separating medium, and the method of measurement.
5. A method of performing electrophoresis utilizing a capillary, the method comprising:
filling the capillary with a separating medium;
applying a voltage to a current-carrying path including the separating medium prior to performing electrophoresis, the applied voltage being smaller than a voltage that is applied during electrophoresis;
detecting a first value of the electric current flowing in the current-carrying path;
determining a state of the current-carrying path based on the first value of the electric current that is detected;
performing electrophoresis while detecting a second value of the electric current flowing in the separating medium after determining that a state of the current-carrying path is suitable for electrophoresis; and
terminating performing electrophoresis based on the detected second value of the electric current,
wherein detecting a second value of an electric current includes calculating an average value of the electric current over a predetermined period of time, and
wherein electrophoresis is terminated when the rate of change of the average value of the electric current exceeds a predetermined value.
6. The electrophoresis method of claim 5 , wherein the state that the current-carrying path is not suitable for electrophoresis is determined when the first value of the electric current that is detected is smaller than a predetermined value.
7. The electrophoresis method of claim 5 , wherein the voltage that is applied to the current-carrying path is smaller than a voltage that produces electric discharge when the capillary is not filled with the separating medium, or when a buffer-solution container forming part of the current-carrying path does not contain an appropriate amount of a buffer solution.