Shimadzu Corporation

Masaru Furuta

Nobuhiro Hanafusa

Kiyohiro Sugiyama

Nobuyuki Akinaga

Ryo Yamaguchi

Keisuke Miyamoto

Ryuh Konoshita

Methods and apparatuses for dispensing samples or reagents onto a target object are provided. A dispensing position designating section () designates the dispensing position on the target object (), such as a membrane, based on an image of the target object () displayed on a monitoring section (). A dispensing control section () positions the target object and the dispensing device relative to each other so that the designated dispensing position on the target object is placed beneath the dispensing device () and controls the dispensing operation of the dispensing device (). A dispensing position information creating section () creates dispensing position information about the dispensing position on the target object () which is designated by the dispensing position designating section () and to which the dispensing operation has been performed and outputs it to the outside.

Liquid portioning method and device

The present invention relates to a sample plate that is preferably constituted by a metal plate on which a membrane is affixed by a conductive double-sided tape. In the case where a sample, developed on a medium such as an electrophoresis gel, is transferred onto the membrane, in the same manner as a conventional blotting operation, a medium such as gel and the sample plate are sandwiched between flat plate electrodes so that the medium and the membrane are made in closely contact with each other, and a voltage is applied between both of the electrodes. Thus, the sample developed on the medium is transferred on the membrane through electrophoresis. Upon laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry, the sample plate is compatibly used as a plate for mass spectrometry.

Laser desorption ionization mass spectrometric method and sample plate used in such a method

A sample plate is provided with a mass-spectrometry-use measuring-sample preparation area which serves as an ionization area used for ionizing the sample through laser irradiation, and a membrane affixing area which serves as a plane area on which the membrane bearing the sample adsorbed thereon is fixedly held. The mass-spectrometry-use measuring-sample preparation area is provided with spots at which the sample, extracted from the membrane fixedly affixed to the membrane affixing area, is dropped together with a matrix solution, and placed, and the spots are preferably regularly arranged thereon. Each of the spots preferably has a round structure surrounded by a groove on the periphery thereof so as to be dried in a converged state without being diffused from a fixed area.

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Kyoto, Japan

Masaru Furuta