Non-focusing tracers for indirect detection in electrophoretic displacement techniques

US8721858B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University · US

Inventors

• Robert D. Chambers · Lebanon, US
• Juan G. Santiago · Fremont, US
• Moran Bercovici · Haifa, IL

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 14, 2011
• Grant date: May 13, 2014
• Expiry date: Nov 25, 2031

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N27/44726
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A novel method for visualizing electrokinetic process zones (e.g., for isotachophoresis (ITP)) is provided. We introduce negligibly small concentrations of a fluorophore that is not focused by isotachophoresis. This non-focusing tracer (NFT) migrates through multiple isotachophoresis zones. As it enters each zone, the NFT concentration adapts to the local electric field in each zone. ITP zones can then be visualized with a point detector or camera. The method can be used to detect, identify, and quantify unknown analyte zones, and can visualize complex and even transient electrophoresis processes. This visualization technique is particularly suited to microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip applications, as typical fluorescence microscopes and CCD cameras can provide high-resolution spatiotemporal data.