ABSTRACT
An important part of resolution in the separation of cells by electrophoresis is the fidelity with which cells can be placed into an electric field and the precision with which they can be removed from the separator. Despite severely attenuated viability after flight, it was possible to obtain electrophoretic mobility distributions and unique subpopulations of cultured human kidney cells, for example. Density gradient electrophoresis has been used for protein and virus separation and has been shown to separate cells on the basis of electrophoretic mobility as measured by microscopic electrophoresis. Cell sample is added to the top of the gradient, followed by an electrophoresis buffer “ceiling”. The chamber is then rotated slowly to its horizontal position, and a field is applied so that the cells migrate downward in the electric field. At the heart of resolution in continuous flow electrophoresis is the manner in which cells are unloaded in fractions at the outlet.
