Patent ID: 7189316

Claim:
Pulsed field electrophoresis chambers with Transversal Alternating Field Electrophoresis (TAFE) electrode array having two pairs of electrodes, each pair formed by one cathode and one anode, for separating DNA molecules immobilized in agarose plugs loaded into a vertical gel by means of using a system for energizing the electrodes and alternating the direction of application of an electric field crossing the gel transversally and generated by the electrode array, as well as a system for circulating a buffer solution throughout the chamber, which TAFE chambers comprise: i) one or more minigels placed in zones crossed by lines of force of the electric field interacting directly with DNA molecules loaded into said minigel(s), wherein said zones are Useful Electrophoresis Zones (UEZ) of said TAFE chambers, ii) said pairs of electrodes of opposite polarities, cathode and anode, separated in the TAFE electrode array a distance ‘d’, which is from 6.2 to 15 cm; wherein said distance in conjunction with the number and sizes of said UEZs limit to certain values height, depth and width of said TAFE chambers, length and width of said minigel(s), and total number of samples loaded simultaneously into all said minigel(s), iii) blocks of materials of high dielectric constant occluding zones of said TAFE chambers crossed by the electric field force lines not acting on DNA molecules loaded into said minigel(s), wherein said zones are non-useful electrophoresis zones (NEZ) zones of said TAFE chambers, iv) stretched electrodes, fixed and pulled tight by the action of a fixation and a tension system, v) inverted TAFE electrode configuration in said electrode array, and vi) three accessory sets of said TAFE chambers for homogenizing the electric current flowing through said chambers in the electrophoresis; the first set comprising removable sheets that avoid turbulences of buffer circulated at high flow velocity; the second set comprising disassemblable sets of frames, base plates, covers and combs having teeth for casting said minigels with homogeneous cross sectional area and identical wells; and the third set comprising disassemblable systems of grooved blocks or sample plug makers, covers of said grooved blocks, and cutters for preparing DNA samples immobilized in plugs for said minigels.