Removing nucleic acid and protein samples from electrophoresis gels can take five to 48 hours-when the process succeeds at all. Standard recovery methods often lose much of the sample, contaminate it, or recover a small, amount in a large volume of buffer. Now Sample Saver, a new product from Accurate Chemical & Scientific Corp., allows the user to leach out the sample in one to two hours.
The apparatus is based on an electrode bath. Between the positive and negative electrodes is a rotating vessel with a membrane of dialysis tubing. A stationary holder and reticulate support can accommodate gel fragments 2" x 1-1/4" and 1/2" thick.
The user simply cuts the desired piece from the gel and places it in the holder. When power is supplied to the unit, the vessel with the dialyzing membrane rotates while the holder and gel slices remain stationary. When the sample is eluted ...
