Gel slicers

[Rod Seppelt]

A very useful (made in their workshop) unit I came across at the University
of Waikato, in Hamilton, New Zealand, was very similar to a wire cheese
slicer.
The slicer consisted of a perspex shallow trough which held the gel.  The
gel surface sat about 2mm above the upper edge of the sides of the trough.
A wire slicer (imagine a very wide tuning fork with a stif, fine wire
stretched between the tips of the prongs) was then run along the length of
the gel to provide a thin slice (2mm).  To elevate the gel above the top of
the trough again, a 2mm thick sheet of metal was slid into the trough below
the remaining gel.
Repeat the process with additional sheets of metal until you have sliced
the whole gel.
At least I think that is how it worked.  You could always contact the
Secretary in Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, to be put in touch
with the lab techs who, I presume, designed the unit.
When i saw it used, it was quick and worked well.
Rod Seppelt

Dr. Rodney D. Seppelt
Principal Research Scientist
Australian Antarctic Division
Channel Highway
Kingston 7050, Tasmania, Australia

phone:  International:  +61 (03) 62 323 438
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