Patent ID: 7749367
Filing Date: 2010-07-06
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A vertical slab gel electrophoresis instrument for carrying out electrophoretic separation vertically within substantially upright arranged slab-shaped gel media comprising: (i) an upper buffer chamber for housing a volume of upper pH buffer solution and an upper electrode in it, having base plate, sidewalls and at least one U-shaped side-opening that is rimmed alone with a U-shaped rubber sealing gasket so as to enable a vertical slab gel cassette to join thereat water tightly; (ii) said vertical slab gel cassette is for said gel to be cast in it and said electrophoretic separation taking place therein, having two spacer spaced sidewalls, closed left and right edges, a lower opening and a U-notched upper opening; (iii) an urging mechanism for forcing said cassette to join said upper buffer chamber at its U-shaped side-opening, so as to form a cassette/upper buffer chamber complex with the U-notched upper opening of said cassette exposing to the inside of said complex; (iv) a lower buffer chamber having base plate and sidewalls for housing a volume of lower pH buffer solution, a lower electrode and at least one lower opening of said cassette in it; (v) a heat absorbing device for absorbing Joule-heat during an electrophoresis run; and (vi) means for preventing the gel from leaking when said gel is cast into said cassette; wherein the improved urging mechanism comprising: (a) at least a swing-frame and a hooking means; (b) a portion of said swing-frame is arranged to face to a U-shaped side opening of said upper buffer chamber, but an appropriate interval is left there between the portion of said swing-frame and the U-shaped side opening of said upper buffer chamber; (c) said swing-frame is swingably coupled on a chassis, which is located under said upper buffer chamber; (d) when said swing-frame is in a swing-opened state, it allows said vertical slab gel cassette to be inserted into said interval; and (e) when said swing-frame is in a swing-closed state and is held in such a swing-closed state by said hooking means, said swing-frame is forcing said cassette to join said upper buffer chamber.