An apparatus and method for mincing a gel includes a gel mincing tube and a mesh
material. The mesh material extends across the end of the tube. To subdivide a
gel using the mincing apparatus, a gel is placed upon the mesh material in the
mincing tube, the mincing tube, mesh material and the gel are spun in a centrifuge,
forcing the gel through the mesh material so that the gel is subdivided into generally
uniform smaller fragments. The mesh material may be secured to a tube in the form
of a nesting tube. The nesting tube nests within the opening of a recovery vessel.
The mesh material may be placed in series with a conditionally porous membrane
in the nesting tube. Centrifuging the nesting tube and the recovery vessel subdivides
gel material into fragments by forcing the gel through the mesh material. The gel
subsequently falls upon the membrane, and may be treated on the membrane to extract
or otherwise treat analytes in the gel material.
