A junction reactor that aligns a pair of capillaries substantially collinearly, end-to-end that allows a small gap to be produced between these two ends. An applied voltage difference between the other ends of these two capillaries produces in the gap electric field lines that extend across the gap. Empirical evidence shows that the gap introduces only a small reduction in resolution of an electrophoretic or electrochromatographic separation. The gap enables sample liquid to be coupled between c...

A cabinet designed for the storage of basic kitchen utensils, cookware and food stuffs which is designed for use by campers and work crews in remote locations. It consists of a trunk-like cabinet with multiple compartments, a convertible top and front panels which open into a portable kitchen. Unique features include a drawer and slideable trays for maximum accessibility of contents, a paper towel rack, fluorescent lamp and convertible utility compartment.

A detector cell, having a capillary entrance elbow through which a beam of exposing light can be directed into the bore of a central leg of the detector cell capillary. Ray traces, to determine the effect of the entrance elbow on the beam of exposing light are used to optimize performance of this detector cell. Back ray tracing is implemented to illustrate an optimized embodiment. Forward ray tracing is also illustrated and can be used to determine system performance for a range or choices of a ...

The invention relates to new methods of RNA isolation that exploit the surprising discovery that RNA may be differentially precipitated from DNA. The subject methods result in the formation of an RNA-containing precipitate that has an RNA content at least two fold enriched with respect to DNA, as compared with the RNA to DNA ratio of the solution from which the RNA-containing precipitate is derived. The invention also includes various methods of DNA isolation that employ the selective precipitat...

An apparatus for enhancing signal to noise ratio in the detection of electromagnetic radiation traversing a capillary tube includes a ball lens and a holding element for holding the ball lens and the capillary tube, the holding element having an aperture so that the aperature and the lens together define an optic axis. The holding element is configured to hold the capillary tube such that the center of the capillary tube traverses the optic axis. The lens has a focal length and is held at such a...

The present invention is directed to a helical drill configuration that allows substantially flat bottomed holes to be machined. At the cutting end of the body member, there are at least two cutting edges that are symmetrically oriented on apposing sides of the rotational axis of the drill. In an embodiment of the invention, first and second cutting edge portions form a continuous surface which provides strength and tool stability. The height of the second portions of each of the cutting edges r...

Disclosed is a method for increasing the electro-osmotic flow rate available for a silica surface. In the method, there is provided an electrophoretic channel which is defined by one or more silica surfaces. The surface(s) are contacted with an alkaline aqueous solution containing a solubilized silicate-monovalent metal complex in an amount effective to increase the acidity of the silica surface(s), as evidenced by a reduction in the average bulk pKa of the surface(s). The achieved increase in a...

Disclosed is a method for increasing the electroosmotic flow rate available for a silica surface. In the method, there is provided an electrophoretic channel which is defined by one or more silica surfaces. The surface(s) are contacted with an alkaline aqueous solution containing a solubilized silicate-monovalent metal complex in an amount effective to increase the acidity of the silica surface(s), as evidenced by a reduction in the average bulk pKa of the surface(s). The achieved increase in ac...

The present invention provides multi-well plates and column arrays in which samples (e.g., cell lysates containing nucleic acids of interest, such as RNA) can be analyzed and/or processed. In one embodiment, the microfiltration arrangement is a multilayer structure, including (i) a column plate having an array of minicolumns into which samples can be placed, (ii) a discrete filter element disposed in each minicolumn, (iii) a drip-director plate having a corresponding array of drip directors thro...

The present invention provides multi-well plates and column arrays in which samples (e.g., cell lysates containing nucleic acids of interest, such as RNA) can be analyzed and/or processed. In one embodiment, the microfiltration arrangement is a multilayer structure, including (i) a column plate having an array of minicolumns into which samples can be placed, (ii) a discrete filter element disposed in each minicolumn, (iii) a drip-director plate having a corresponding array of drip directors thro...