Microchip gel electrophoresis with programmed field strength gradients for ultra-fast detection of canine T-cell lymphoma in dogs

This paper describes the applicability of microchip gel electrophoresis using a programmed field strength gradients (MGE-PFSG) method coupled with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the ultra-fast diagnosis of canine T-cell lymphoma. The variable region in the T-cell receptor γ (TCRγ) gene from a T-cell lymphoma was used in PCR amplification. The contributions of the various parameters, including the effects of the molecular weight, concentration of the sieving matrix and field strength in MGE, were examined. 0.5% poly (ethyleneoxide) (PEO, M_r 8 000 000) was used as the sieving matrix for the ultra-rapid separation of the amplified-PCR products (90 and 130-bp DNA fragments) from the PFSG at an effective length of 20 mm in a glass microchip. The PCR products (90 and 130-bp DNA) of the T-cell lymphoma were analyzed within 41.7 ± 0.1 s, 15.5 ± 0.2 s and only 7.0 ± 0.1 s using a low-constant field strength, high-constant field strength and the PFSG, respectively. When 11 clinical samples were analyzed using the MGE-PFSG method, there was a 100% correlation with those obtained using conventional slab gel electrophoresis. The ultra-fast detection and rapid separation capabilities of MGE-PFSG make it an efficient tool for diagnosing T-cell lymphoma in clinical samples with high sensitivity.