A rapid method for assaying the metabolism of 7-ethoxyresorufin by microsomal subcellular fractions

Chemical activation of agarose with cyanogen bromide is a routine method when preparing gels for affinity chromatography and for immobilization of macromolecules. Two activation methods are in common use; the titration (1) and the buffer (2) methods.Manipulation of the gels during CNBr activation is complicated due to many steps, some of which have to be carried out as quickly as possible (1,2). In addition, handling the gel is harmful due to the poisonous vapors. In spite of these facts, little effort has been paid to facilitate the practical performance of the activation. We describe here a useful device to eliminate some of the practical troubles in the activation. The main advantages of the device are straight-forward working, speed, and the avoidance of CNBr vapors to a considerable extent. The device is also suitable for handling quantitative gel batches since the loss of gel is minimal.