BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the analysis of chemical and biological materials and, more particularly, to an improved electrophoresis apparatus which simultaneously performs multiple analyses on a plurality of analytes.

2. General Background and State of the Art

Electrophoresis is a known technique for separating and characterizing constituent and/or biological molecules, or analytes, present in simple and complex matrices undergoing analysis. Candidate sample compounds include drugs, proteins, nucleic acids, peptides, metabolites, biopolymers and other substances which exist in simple and complex forms.

Conventional systems are based on interchangeable cartridges which house a thin capillary tube equipped with an optical viewing window that cooperates with a detector. Sample solutions and other necessary fluids are placed in vials (cups) positioned beneath inlet and outlet ends of the capillary tube by means of a rotatable table.

When high voltage is applied to a capillary filled with an appropriate solution and/or matrix, molecular components migrate through the tube at different rates and physically separate them. The direction of migration is biased toward an electrode with a charge opposite to that of the molecules under investigation. As the molecules pass the viewing window, they are monitored by a UV and/or other detector which transmits an absorbance and/or appropriate signal to a recorder. The absorbance and/or appropriate values are plotted as peaks which supply qualitative and quantitative analytical information in the form of electropherograms.

Electrophoresis separation relies on the different migration of charged particles in an electric field. Migration speed is primarily influenced by the charge on a particle which, in turn, is determined by the pH of the buffer medium. Electric field strength, molecular size and shape of the analyte, temperature of the system, and other parameters also influence migration behavior.

Electrophoresis is a family of related techniques that perform high efficiency separations of large and small molecules. As one embodiment of this science, capillary electrophoresis is effective for obtaining rapid and highly efficient separations in excess of one-hundred-thousand plates/meter. Because it is a non-destructive technique, capillary electrophoresis preserves scarce physical samples and reduces consumption of reagents. A fused silica (quartz) capillary, with an inner bore diameter ranging from about 5 microns to about 200 microns and a length ranging from about 10 centimeters to about 100 centimeters, is filled with an electrically conductive fluid, or background electrolyte, which is most often a buffer. Since the column volume is only about 0.5 to about 30 microliters, the sample introduction volume is usually measured in nanoliters, picoliters and femtoliters (ideally 2% of the total volume of the column). As consequence, the mass sensitivity of the technique is quite high.

Improved instrumentation and buffer-specific chemistries now yield accurate peak migrations and precise area counts for separated analytes. But, capillary electrophoresis is still limited by concentration sensitivity.

To overcome this deficiency, a series of solid-phase microextraction devices have been developed for selective and non-selective molecular consolidation. These devices, which are used on-line with a capillary tube, are commonly known as analyte concentrators containing affinity probes to bind target compounds. Typical embodiments are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,010 which is incorporated by reference in this disclosure. Other relevant teachings are provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,639 which discloses the use of molecular recognition elements; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,692 which discloses the use of a pre-separation membrane for concentrating a sample.

Even with the advent of analyte concentrators, there is still a need to improve the sensitivity levels for the samples that exist in sub-nanomolar quantities. This deficit is particularly acute in the clinical environment where early detection of a single molecule may be essential for the identification of a life-threatening disease.

Known capillary electrophoresis instruments are also limited by low-throughput, i.e., the number of samples that can be analyzed in a specified period of time. U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,172, which is incorporated by reference, describes an automated, capillary-based system with increased analytical speed. The '172 patent represents a significant improvement over the prior art. But, throughput is still relatively low because the instrument uses only one capillary which performs single sample analyses in approximately 30 minutes.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,686 recognizes the need for a multi-functional analyzer using an array of capillary tubes. Like other disclosures of similar import, the 86 patent focuses on samples having relatively high concentrations. There is no appreciation of the loadability and sensitivity necessary for analyzing diluted samples, or samples present at low concentrations in a variety of liquids or fluids.

Based on these deficiencies, there exists an art-recognized need for an electrophoresis instrument having higher loadability, better detectability of constituent analytes, faster throughput and multi-functional capability for analyzing a plurality of components in a single sample and/or a plurality of samples with high and low concentrations of components using a variety of chromophores, detectors and/or pre-concentration devices.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved electrophoresis apparatus having at least one transport capillary, at least one separation capillary and an analyte concentrator positioned there between.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrophoresis apparatus having greater operating efficiency, detectability and throughput.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a user-friendly, sample preparation step which is designed to eliminate unwanted analytes that occupy binding sites and contaminate the inner walls of capillaries or channels.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an electrophoresis apparatus that can analyze multiple samples having a single constituent, or multiple constituents of a single sample, or multiple constituents of multiple samples.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electrophoresis apparatus which uses more than one analyte concentrator to sequentially bind more than one analyte in a single complex matrix, or in multiple matrices of simple or complex configuration.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an electrophoresis apparatus having enhanced loadability and sensitivity which is capable of analyzing samples present in a wide range of concentrations, including those found at low concentrations in diluted liquids or fluids with simple or complex matrices.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electrophoresis apparatus that delivers high-throughput for screening and analyzing a wide variety of samples in multiple application areas, utilizing a single or multiple dimension separation principle or mode.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrophoresis apparatus which uses more than one separation method to sequentially permit binding to, and elution from, an analyte concentrator to effect the separation of one or more analytes.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an automated, miniaturized desk-top electrophoresis apparatus for bioanalysis and other applications.

Additional objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, a sample including a number of analytes of interest is passed through a relatively large-bore transport capillary orthogonal to a plurality of smaller-bore separation capillaries. An analyte concentrator is positioned at each intersection of the transport capillary and separation capillaries.

After the sample has been passed through each of the analyte concentrators, and after the analytes of importance are captured by each concentrator matrix, a selected buffer is applied to each analyte concentrator to free the system of salts and other non-relevant components. For example, a typical buffered solution is sodium tetraborate having a pH in the range of 7.0 to 9.0. The bound analytes are then eluted from each concentrator matrix in a sequentially time-controlled fashion using an aliquot or plug of an optimal eluting solution. The process continues until each of the analytes has been removed from the concentrator matrices and passed through the detector by high resolution electrophoresis migration. To increase the sensitivity of the analytes, an additional analyte concentrator containing a chromophoric reagent may be placed in one or more of the separation capillaries to react with the analyte present in that capillary. Alternatively, the eluting solution may contain a chromophoric reagent allowing decoupling and derivatization to occur simultaneously. The derivatized analytes can then be isolated in the separation capillary.

To separate and analyze multiple samples with the electrophoresis apparatus of the invention, individual separation capillaries are provided, each of which contains an analyte concentrator that enriches the analytes present in dilute solutions of low concentration or enriches the analytes present at low concentrations in solutions of simple or complex matrices containing constituent components at a wide range of concentrations. Multiple elutions are carried out in a manner similar to that performed when analyzing a single sample. Effective results can also be achieved using solutions that contain an appropriate eluting chemical and a chromophoric reagent to simultaneously elute the targeted analyte and enhance sensitivity. As with a single-sample analyzer, an extra analyte concentrator may be placed in one or more of the separation capillaries to allow on-line derivatization of analytes, prior and/or after separation conditions, to achieve even further enhancement of concentration sensitivity. In addition, an extra analyte concentrator may be placed in one or more of the separation capillaries to permit chemical and/or biochemical reactions, such as the on-line cleavage of proteins to generate peptides.

An analyte concentrator may also be used to quantify enzymatic products generated by the action of one or more pharmacological agents during a specific enzyme reaction. Furthermore, the use of an analyte concentrator coupled to a different mode of electrophoresis can be used to differentiate structurally related substances present in biological fluids or tissue specimens. For example, the identification and characterization of natural proteins from artificially-made proteins or other chemicals in serum.

All reactions described above can be performed in an apparatus containing a format that includes either capillaries or channels. In addition, the migration of analytes can be accomplished by an electrical or mechanical pump.

