title: Improved sensitivity of detection with the commercial automated gel electrophoresis (HPGE-1000) apparatus through modification of its optical system.
abstract: In a representative application to a fluorescently detectable protein of commercial automated gel electrophoresis apparatus (HPGE-1000, LabIntelligence, Belmont, CA) the sensitivity of detection by fluorescence was significantly increased by elimination of the mirror below the gel tray. That increase in detection sensitivity is due to a decrease of fluorescent background noise by nearly one order of magnitude, overcompensating a decrease in signal by a factor of two. The resulting increase in signal/noise ratio, i.e., detection sensitivity, should allow for lowered sample loads by which the band width is reduced with benefits to resolution.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, NICHD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1580, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yarmola
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chrambach
mesh_terms: D001322:Autoanalysis; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005453:Fluorescence; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D010799:Phycoerythrin / Q000737:chemistry; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D010799:Phycoerythrin