Patent ID: 8007725

Claim:
A multi-dimensional electrophoresis apparatus, comprising: a transport passage having an inlet end and an outlet end; a separation passage having a transport/separation passage overlapping portion which overlaps a portion of the transport passage; the separation passage being communicable upstream of the transport/separation passage overlapping portion with a separation buffer supply or with an eluting buffer supply; an analyte concentrator containing one or more immobilized affinity ligands in the transport/separation passage overlapping portion to concentrate at least one analyte of interest from a fluid-containing sample introduced into the transport passage from a sample supply; the analyte concentrator being positionable upstream of an analyte detector zone wherein the at least one analyte of interest eluted from the one or more immobilized affinity ligands and delivered thereto via the separation passage can be identified and characterized; one of the anode or cathode sides of the multi-dimensional electrophoresis apparatus being generally at the eluting buffer supply or at the separation buffer supply side and the other side being downstream of the analyte concentrator; and localizing means associated with the transport passage for localizing the analyte concentrator to thereby increase the concentration of the at least one analyte of interest from the sample at the analyte concentrator wherein the intersection has a staggered configuration such that the transport/separation passage overlapping portion forms an elongated separation passage portion containing the one or more immobilized affinity ligands.