A Multichannel Capillary Electrophoresis System for the Analysis of Fluorescently Labeled Proteins

Electrophoresis is an analytical method frequently used in nucleic acid and protein analysis to separate macromolecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins based on their size and charge. The technique is widely employed in the fields of medical diagnostics, life sciences, and clinical research.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) systems separate nucleic acids and proteins with high accuracy and in a short period of time. CE separates molecules according to charge and size. The basic difference between capillary electrophoresis and gel electrophoresis is that, in CE, molecules are separated inside a small capillary tube filled with conductive buffer rather than gel. Separation of molecules using CE is faster and provides higher resolution because the thin tubes have a higher surface-to-volume ratio, which enables heat to dissipate faster and the system to run at high voltages without overheating. Moreover, CE requires only a small amount of sample, conserving rare and expensive samples.