Hewlett-packard Company

Hans-Peter Zimmermann

Fred Strohmeier

Klaus E Witt

Gerard Rozing

Monika Dittmann

Klaus-Peter Hupe

Werner Eberhardt

A column for capillary chromatographic separations, for example high performance liquid chromatography, capillary electrochromatography, or supercritical chromatography, includes a column bed of packing material arranged in the inner bore of the column, and a retainer for retaining the column bed in the interior of the column, wherein the retainer includes regions in the interior of the column having radial dimensions which are different from that of the inner bore. Preferably, the column is a fused silica capillary whose protective layer is removed in a detection area so that sample substances separated in the column can be detected by means of a light source which transmits radiation through the column which is detected by a detector.

Column for capillary chromatographic separations

An apparatus for handling liquid vials in an analytical device comprises a single movable tray for accommodating a plurality of vials, and lifting devices arranged in the proximity of the tray for lifting vials out of the tray. The tray has a plurality of recesses for holding the vial. The recesses are open at the bottom so that a vertically movable finger of a lifting device which can be positioned underneath the bottom of a vial can move the vial out of the tray by an upward movement. When a vial has been lifted out of the tray, the tray remains freely rotatable so that a different vial can be positioned at a further lifting device and then lifted out of the tray. The invention provides a mechanically simple apparatus which is particularly suited for capillary electrophoresis for handling vials containing sample and electrolyte liquid. In capillary electrophoresis, two of the lifting devices are used for lifting vials to the ends of an electrophoresis capillary and a further lifting device is used for moving electrolyte vials to an arrangement for replenishing the electrolyte.

Apparatus for handling liquid vials in an analytical device

An apparatus for performing capillary electrophoresis comprises a housing (37) to which a sealing and electrode arrangement (36) is fastened and a removable cassette (22) which accommodates a capillary (1) in which electrophoretic separation of a sample takes place when an electric field is applied. When performing an electrophoretic separation, the end of the capillary (1) and a tube-shaped electrode (39) surrounding the capillary (1) dip into a liquid vial containing electrolyte or sample liquid. Liquid is injected into the capillary (1) by applying pressure on the liquid in the vial. An elastomeric seal (40) around the capillary (1) is provided to prevent escaping of the pressure during injection. The end of the capillary (1) depending from the cassette (20) is introduced through a funnel (41) and a central bore in the seal (40). When the cassette (20) is pressed downwards onto the funnel (41), the elastomeric seal (40) is squeezed so that the capillary (1) is sealed off. Since the seal ( 40) is arranged in the housing (37), no sealing is required in the cassette, resulting in a simpler construction of the cassette and facilitating replacement of the capillary in the cassette. (FIG. 4)

Apparatus for performing capillary electrophoresis

Apparatus and methods for processing liquids are provided. The apparatus include open-ended, hollow reactor compartments which are detachably connected to receptor ends of tube systems. In preferred embodiments, a portion of the tube system is fixed to a rotor arm which can be rotated in a circle and moved up and down. Another portion of the tube system is coupled to a metering syringe which serves for drawing in or ejecting fluids into or from the reactor compartment and/or the tube system. A plurality of process stations such as bottles containing reagents or solvents can be arranged on a circular tray such that they can be accessed by the reactor compartment or by the receptor end if the reactor compartment has been detached from the tube system. The invention can be used, for example, for automatic protein sequencing, whereby the proteins to be sequenced are held in place by a matrix in the reactor compartment.

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Karlsbad, Germany

Hans-Peter Zimmermann