JP3671594B2 - Electrophoresis device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrophoresis apparatus, and more particularly to an electrophoresis apparatus in which a lid is not clouded by water vapor or water droplets during electrophoresis.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Electrophoresis is a universal analysis technique used in a wide range of industrial fields, including basic research in biochemistry and various inspections, but horizontal submarine electrophoresis apparatuses are widely used for nucleic acid analysis. This horizontal submarine electrophoresis apparatus has a simple configuration in which both the power supply and both the Yin and Yang electrodes are installed at the bottom of the box-shaped water tank, but usually a transparent lid for safety is placed on the top of the electrophoresis tank. Installed. During electrophoresis, water vapor was unavoidably generated due to a rise in the temperature of the buffer solution, and clouding and condensation occurred on the lid, making it extremely difficult to observe the inside of the electrophoresis tank. For example, at room temperature, the interior cannot be completely observed within 5 minutes after the start of electrophoresis.
[0003]
In addition, when the lid is opened, there is a risk of causing a dangerous situation such as wetting the power supply unit with water droplets. In addition, for the sake of convenience, there is a problem in terms of safety in terms of use and structure, such as use with the user removing the lid.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
It is an object of the present invention to open a lid of an electrophoresis tank such as a horizontal submarine electrophoresis apparatus that is commonly used so that the lid of the electrophoresis tank is not clouded or condensed by water vapor generated by electrophoresis. The object is to construct an electrophoresis apparatus that is easy to observe inside the electrophoresis tank through the lid and is safe.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The inventors of the present invention have made extensive studies and found that an electrophoretic device is provided with an air suction port and an air discharge port, and the air in the space between the electrophoretic tank and the lid is caused to flow. When the lid is covered, the surface of the lid facing the bottom in the electrophoresis tank) is always exposed to flowing air, so that the generated water vapor is efficiently removed, and the clouding and condensation on the lid can be completely prevented. I found out. That is, the present invention discharges a horizontal submarine electrophoresis tank and a transparent or translucent lid covering the opening of the electrophoretic tank to force the outside air in the space between the electrophoretic bath and the lid An electrophoretic device having means or means for forcibly sucking external air into the space, and an air suction port and a discharge port , wherein the lid has one end at the top and the one end to the one end. A top plate that is curved downward so that the gradient gradually increases as it proceeds to the other end facing the portion, and its lower surface is curved in an arch shape, and the air suction port is a peripheral edge of one end of the top plate The electrophoretic device is provided at a peripheral edge of the other end of the top plate .
[0006]
The electrophoresis tank used in the present invention is capable of generating water vapor due to an increase in the temperature of the buffer during electrophoresis, and typically includes a horizontal submarine electrophoresis tank. The horizontal submarine electrophoresis tank has a convex platform at the bottom for holding a carrier for electrophoresis such as agarose gel or polyacrylamide gel.
[0007]
In the present invention, the lid may be non-opaque, that is, colored or colorless, transparent or translucent so that the inside of the electrophoresis tank can be visually observed when the electrophoresis tank is covered. The shape of the lid is not particularly limited, such as a flat plate shape or a rectangular shape, and any lid can be used as long as it covers the opening of the electrophoresis tank and can seal the electrophoresis tank except for the suction port and the discharge port. Further, the material of the lid is not particularly limited, and usually transparent plastic is used.
[0008]
The air suction port and the air discharge port may be provided in either the electrophoresis tank or the lid, but in order to efficiently expose the flowing air to the lower surface of the lid, an air suction port is provided at the periphery of the lower surface of the lid. It is preferable to provide an air discharge port on the periphery of the lower surface of the lid that faces the suction port on the lower surface of the lid.
[0009]
The electrophoresis apparatus of the present invention forcibly discharges the air in the space between the electrophoresis tank and the lid (hereinafter referred to as “discharge means”) and forcibly sucks the outside air into the space. At least one means among the means (hereinafter referred to as “suction means”). These discharge means and suction means are realized by a fan, a pump, or the like that is permanently or temporarily mounted inside or outside the discharge port and the suction port.
[0010]
[Action]
According to the electrophoresis device of the present invention, external air is forcibly sucked from the suction port by the air suction port and the discharge port provided in the electrophoresis device, and the discharge unit or the suction unit. It is forcibly discharged from the discharge port together with the generated water vapor. Therefore, it is possible to prevent fogging and condensation from occurring on the lower surface of the lid, and it is possible to easily and safely observe the inside of the electrophoresis tank through the transparent or translucent lid without opening the lid. .
[0011]
In particular, by providing an air suction port on the periphery of the lower surface of the lid and providing an air discharge port on the periphery of the lower surface of the lid facing the suction port, the flowing air can be efficiently exposed to the lower surface of the lid, It is possible to more efficiently prevent fogging and condensation from occurring on the lower surface of the lid.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an electrophoresis apparatus according to the present invention. A lid 2 whose bottom surface is curved in an arch shape is provided on the upper part of the electrophoresis tank 1. A convex platform 3 is formed at the bottom of the electrophoresis tank 1, and both positive and negative electrodes (not shown) are formed at both ends in the migration direction. The lid 2 covering the electrophoresis tank 1 has a shape in which one end portion in the migration direction (the right end portion in FIG. 1) becomes the top portion, and the gradient gradually increases as it proceeds to the other end portion in the migration direction. The whole is made of transparent plastic.
[0013]
A circular shape is formed on the side surface of the top of the lid 2 at an upper portion thereof (on the lower surface side of the lid 2) and at a position biased to any corner from the central portion in a direction substantially perpendicular to the migration direction. The suction port 4 is perforated. A fan 5 is attached to the lid 2 as a suction means outside the suction port 4. A transparent plastic air guide plate 6 is attached inside the lid 2 at an angle θ with respect to the migration direction inside the suction port 4. By providing the suction port 4 at a biased position and attaching the air guide plate 6, the air can be efficiently moved along the entire lower surface of the lid 2 by one fan 5. The angle θ varies depending on the shape and size of the electrophoresis tank 1 and the lid 2, but is generally set to 30 to 50 °, preferably about 35 to 45 °.
[0014]
The entirety of the other end portion (left end portion in FIG. 1) of the lid 2 in the migration direction becomes a slit-like discharge port 7, and water vapor generated in the electrophoresis tank 1 is effectively discharged to the outside. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1 (d), by providing an air discharge port 7 at the periphery opposite to the air suction port 4 provided at the periphery of the lower surface of the lid 2, the flowing air is applied to the lower surface of the lid 2. It can be efficiently exposed, and it is possible to more efficiently prevent fogging and condensation from occurring on the lower surface of the lid 2.
[0015]
The electrophoresis tank 1 and the lid 2 are connected by a hinge 8, and the lid 2 can be opened by lifting the left end of the lid 2 to the right. Then, the agarose gel 9 is held on the platform 3 of the electrophoresis tank 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the electrophoresis apparatus of FIG. 1 during electrophoresis. In FIG. 2, the broken line indicates the movement of water vapor, and the solid line arrow indicates the flow of air.
[0016]
The DC current obtained from the commercial AC power supply 10 via the DC power supply 11 forms an electric field in the buffer solution 13 by the Yin and Yang platinum electrode 12, and the sample is put into the sample groove 14 of the gel 9 placed in the electric field. . The sample moves in the electric field direction (left direction in FIG. 2). At this time, air is sucked from the outside by the fan 5, flows from the suction port 4 of the lid 2 along the lower surface inside the lid, and is discharged from the discharge port 7 while capturing water vapor generated from the buffer solution 13.
[0017]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another aspect of the electrophoresis apparatus of the present invention, which is characterized in that a detachable power supply unit 15 is provided at one end of a lid 2 covering the electrophoresis tank 1. The power supply unit 15 has a function of converting an alternating current supplied from the power cord into a direct current, and has a fan 5 for sending external air to the suction port 4 drilled in the lid 2. Yes. As shown in FIG. 3, the lid 2 is not limited to a structure in which the entire bottom surface of the electrophoresis tank 1 can be seen, but may be any one that can at least observe the flow of the sample in the agarose gel 9. According to this aspect, an external commercial AC power supply, a DC power supply, and a fan are unnecessary, and it is compact.
[0018]
In the above embodiment, the fan 5 as the suction means is provided on the suction port 4 side, but the fan 5 as the discharge means is provided on the discharge port 7 side, or the fan 5 provided on the suction port 4 side is blown. The direction may be reversed, and external air may be taken from the discharge port 7 and discharged from the suction port 4 to the outside.
[0019]
【Example】
An apparatus as shown in FIG. 3 is used to examine whether clouding and dew condensation caused by water vapor generated from a buffer solution during electrophoresis can be effectively removed by regularly sending air to the lower surface of the lid of the electrophoresis tank. It was performed using.
[0020]
As the buffer, a generally used tris-acetate buffer or tris-borate buffer was used. First, a current was applied at a constant voltage of 7 V / cm without operating the fan without putting the gel. Each buffer solution started at room temperature, and fine water droplets adhered to the lower surface of the lid in about 5 minutes, making it difficult to observe the inside. The interior became completely unobservable in about 10 minutes, the water droplets began to aggregate, and the water droplets began to drip in about 20 minutes. After 30 minutes, the temperature of the Tris-acetate buffer increased about 5 degrees, and in the case of the Tris-borate buffer, it increased about 3 degrees. After 5 minutes from the start of energization, the internal observation was completely impossible.
[0021]
Next, power was supplied under the same conditions while operating the fan of the apparatus. In the case of Tris-acetate buffer, the temperature of the buffer rose by 12 degrees from room temperature (22 degrees), and in the case of Tris-borate buffer, it rose by 8 degrees from room temperature. There was no cloudiness on the lid. Subsequent energization for 90 minutes does not show any cloudiness of the lid. At this time, in the case of Tris-acetate buffer, the temperature rises by 21 degrees from room temperature, and in the case of Tris-borate buffer, the temperature rises by 15 degrees from room temperature. It was. Further, even when the current was applied for 90 minutes, it did not become cloudy at all. At this time, in the case of Tris-acetate buffer, the temperature rose by 28 degrees from room temperature, and in the case of Tris-borate buffer, it increased by 19 degrees from room temperature.
[0022]
In order to reproduce a state close to the actual conditions, 0.8%, 1.0% and 1.2% agarose gels were placed in the apparatus and examined in the same manner, and the same results as above were obtained.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
In the electrophoresis apparatus of the present invention, air always flows in a constant direction along the lid, and water vapor inevitably generated by electrophoresis is efficiently captured and discharged. For this reason, the inside of the electrophoretic tank can be easily observed during electrophoresis without fogging or condensation inside the lid. Therefore, safer and more reliable electrophoresis is guaranteed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A and 1B are diagrams showing an embodiment of an electrophoresis apparatus according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a top view, FIG. 1B is a side view, and FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of a portion surrounded by a broken line in FIG. (D) is a schematic diagram of the flow of the air in an electrophoresis tank cover.
FIG. 2 is a structural diagram showing an operation of the electrophoresis apparatus of FIG. 1 during electrophoresis.
FIG. 3 is a structural diagram showing another embodiment of the electrophoresis apparatus of the present invention, wherein (a) is a top view and (b) is a side view.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Electrophoresis tank 2 Lid 4 Suction port 5 Fan 7 Discharge port

Claims (1)

A horizontal submarine electrophoresis tank and a transparent or translucent lid covering the opening of the electrophoretic tank, means or external air forcibly discharged out of the air in the space between the electrophoretic bath and the lid An electrophoretic device having means for forcibly sucking into the space , an air suction port and a discharge port ,
The lid has a top plate with one end at the top, curved downward so that the gradient gradually increases as it goes from the one end to the other end facing the one end, and the lower surface is curved in an arch shape. And
The electrophoretic device, wherein the air suction port is provided at a peripheral edge of one end portion of the top plate, and the air discharge port is provided at a peripheral edge of the other end portion of the top plate .

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