Ribbon channel plate rotating drum DNA sequencing device

A new design DNA sequencing electrophoresis device is described. The device, called the ribbon channeled plate rotating drum (rprd), consists of two major components, the plate assembly and the drum assembly. The plate assembly contains a machined or etched plate of individual micro-channels called the ribbon channeled plate. The ribbon channeled plate and other components of the plate assembly combine the advantages of thin gels and capillary arrays in a single unit with few of the disadvantages. The other major component of rprd is the drum assembly, which facilitates direct blotting onto deposition membranes affixed to a large plastic drum. The drum with attached membrane and deposited electrophoretically resolved ladders is easily moved to special units facilitating downstream processing and detection. The drum unit, although versatile, is specifically designed to be used with multiplex sequencing.