Patent ID: 8864970

Claim:
A method of separating a mixture of a plurality of tool molecular analytes having different isoelectric points (pIs), comprising: placing a solution containing a mixture of a plurality of molecular analytes in separation volume; trapping said plurality of molecular analytes in between at least two pH step zones in a separation volume containing said solution, each said pH step zone having a different substantially uniform pH; and a plurality of ion sources distributed along a longitudinal axis of said separation volume configured to inject ions in a controlled manner across said longitudinal axis of said separation volume to gradually change a pH in at least one of said two pH step zones and to induce a sequential migration of said plurality of molecular analytes along said longitudinal axis toward a common point in a plurality of separate drifting bands each having a different pIs; and separately performing at least one of harvesting and diagnosing each one of said plurality of drifting bands from said common point.