Fabrication and performance of poly(methyl methacrylate) microfluidic chips with fiber cores

In this work, a piece of glass fiber was inserted into the channel of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) electrophoresis microchip to enhance the electroosmotic flow (EOF) and the separation efficiency. The EOF value of the glass fiber-containing microchannel at pH 8.2 was determined to be 4.17 x 10(-4)cm2 V(-1)s(-1). The performance of the new microchip was demonstrated by its ability to separate and detect three purines coupled with end-column amperometric detection. In addition, a piece of trypsin-immobilized glass fiber was inserted into the channel of a PMMA microchip to fabricate a core-changeable microfluidic bioreactor that can be regenerated by changing the fiber. The in-channel fiber bioreactor has been coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the digestion and peptide mapping of bovine serum albumin and myoglobin.     

Deposition of PEG onto PMMA microchannel surface to minimize nonspecific adsorption

A protein-resistant surface has been constructed on the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microfluidic chips based on a one-step modification. The copolymer of butyl methacrylate (BMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) is synthesized to introduce a dense PEG molecular brush-like coating on the PMMA microchannel surfaces via the anchoring effect of the hydrophobic BMA units. The PEGMA segments could produce hydrophilic domains formed on the interface so as to achieve stable electroosmotic flow, and less nonspecific adsorption toward biomolecules. The modification procedure and the properties of the poly(BMA-co-PEGMA)-coated surface have been characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, confocal fluorescence microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The water contact angle and electroosmotic flow of PEG-modified PMMA microchip are measured to be 36 degrees and 5.4 x 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), while those of 73 degrees and 1.9 x 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) for native one, respectively. The PEG-modified microchip has been applied for the electrophoresis separation of proteins, corresponding to the theoretical efficiencies about 16 300 and 412 300 plates m(-1). In the interest of achieving efficient separation while minimizing biofoulings from the serum and plasma, the fabrication of PEG-coated microfluidic chips would provide a biocompatible platform for complex biological analysis.     

Channel wall coating on a poly-(methyl methacrylate) CE microchip by thermal immobilization of a cellulose derivative for size-based protein separation

We demonstrate channel wall coating using a cellulose derivative on a poly-(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) CE microchip to eliminate EOF disturbing protein separation. The channel walls were modified by preconditioning with a solution containing the cellulose derivative and then thermally evaporating the solution to produce hydrophilic channel walls which prevent adsorption of analytes via a hydrophobic interaction. When the PMMA substrate was coated with the cellulose derivative hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) 90SH, the water contact angle on the coated substrate was decreased (up to 15 degrees ) and EOF was significantly suppressed (up to 4.0 x 10(-6) cm2.V(-1)s(-1)). Three proteins (20.5, 68.0, and 114.6 kDa) were successfully separated on the 0.15% HPMC 90SH-coated channel walls with good reproducibility of migration time (RSD <1.75%) and high efficiency (theoretical plate number per meter: 2.62 x 10(5)).     

Rinse and evaporation coating of poly(methyl methacrylate) microchip for separation of sodium dodecyl sulfate-protein complex

We developed a novel channel wall coating on a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microchip using methylcellulose (MC) as a coating reagent to suppress electroosmotic flow (EOF) following the strong analytes adsorption via hydrophobic interaction with channel walls of PMMA. Our coating was obtained by first rinsing channel walls with MC-containing aqueous solution followed by evaporation. The coating made the hydrophilic channel wall lowering EOF by two orders of magnitude (1.2 x 10(-5)cm(2)V(-1)s(-1)) as well as reducing the hydrophobic adsorption. On the coated channel walls, we successfully separated sodium dodecyl sulfate-protein complexes with high reproducibility and efficiency using dextran as a lower viscosity protein separation medium.     

Fabrication of microfluidic devices using dry film photoresist for microchip capillary electrophoresis

An inexpensive, disposable microfluidic device was fabricated from a dry film photoresist using a combination of photolithographic and hot roll lamination techniques. A microfluidic flow pattern was prefabricated in a dry film photoresist tape using traditional photolithographic methods. This tape became bonded to a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) sheet with prepouched holes when passed through a hot roll laminator. A copper working electrode and platinum decoupler was readily incorporated within this microchip. The integrated microchip device was then fixed in a laboratory-built Plexiglas holder prior to its use in microchip capillary electrophoresis. The performance of this device with amperometric detection for the separation of dopamine and catechol was examined. The separation was complete within 50 s at an applied potential of 200 V/cm. The relative standard deviations (RSD) of analyte migration times were less than 0.71%, and the theoretical plate numbers for dopamine and catechol were 3.2 x 10(4) and 4.1 x 10(4), respectively, based on a 65 mm separation channel.     

Miniaturized two-dimensional capillary electrophoresis on a microchip for analysis of the tryptic digest of proteins

A two-dimensional capillary electrophoresis platform, combining isoelectric focusing (IEF) and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), was established on a microchip with the channel width and depth as 100 mum and 40 mum, respectively. With polyacrylamide as permanent coating, EOF in the microchannel, which could impair the separation, was decreased to 3.4x10(-9)m(2).V(-1).s(-1), about 1/10 of that obtained in the uncoated set-up. During the separation, peptides were first focused by IEF in the first dimensional channel, and then directly driven into the perpendicular channel by controlling the applied voltages, and separated by CZE. Effects of various experimental parameters, including the electric field strength, channel length, and injection frequency from the first to the second dimensional separation channel, were studied. Under optimized condition, the digests of BSA and proteins extracted from E. coli were separated, and a peak capacity of 540 was obtained, which was far greater than that obtained by each single dimensional separation. All these results showed the promise of multidimensional separation on a microchip for the high-throughput and high-resolution analysis of complex samples.     

Performance evaluation of a capillary electrophoresis electrochemical chip integrated with gold nanoelectrode ensemble working and decoupler electrodes

This paper presents a capillary electrophoresis poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) based microchip for electrochemical detection applications featuring embedded gold nanoelectrode ensemble (GNEE) working and decoupler electrodes. In fabricating the microchip, the GNEE films are pressed directly onto the metallic electrode structures using a hot embossing technique, and the microfluidic channels are then sealed using a low-temperature azeotropic solvent bonding method. The detection performance of the microchip is evaluated using dopamine and catechol analytes for illustration purposes. The experimental results show that the GNEE working electrode provides a significantly higher signal response than that obtained from a bulk gold electrode when applied to the detection of dopamine analyte. Compared to a conventional bulk palladium decoupler electrode, the GNEE decoupler electrode reduces both the amplitude of the charge current (3.5 nA vs. 18.7 nA) and the baseline drift at higher separation voltages. The measured baseline current drift for the microchip equipped the proposed GNEE decoupler electrode is around three times smaller than the microchip with the palladium decoupler electrode under the applied separation electric field from 40 V/cm to 240 V/cm. Finally, when detecting a mixture of 1mM dopamine and 1mM catechol, the calculated signal response of the microchip with a GNEE decoupler electrode is approximately five times higher than that obtained from a microchip with a bulk Pd decoupler electrode, resulting in the detection limit of 1 microM for the proposed GNEE-based microchip device. Overall, the results indicate that the proposed capillary electrophoresis-electrochemical detection (CE-ED) microchip with embedded GNEE working and decoupler electrodes provides an ideal solution for sample detection in lab-on-a-chip and micro total analysis applications.     

Bulk modification of polymeric microfluidic devices

The surface properties of microfluidic devices play an important role in their flow behavior. We report here on an effective control of the surface chemistry and performance of polymeric microchips through a bulk modification route during the fabrication process. The new protocol is based on modification of the bulk microchip material by tailored copolymerization of monomers during atmospheric-pressure molding. A judicious addition of a modifier to the primary monomer solution thus imparts attractive properties to the plastic microchip substrate, including significant enhancement and/or modulation of the EOF (with flow velocities comparable to those of glass), a strong pH sensitivity and high stability. Carboxy, sulfo, and amino moieties have thus been introduced (through the incorporation of methylacrylic acid, 2-sulfoethyl-methacrylate and 2-aminoethyl-methacrylate monomers, respectively). A strong increase in the electroosmotic pumping compared to the native poly(methylmethacrylate)(PMMA) microchip (ca. electroosmotic mobility increases from 2.12 to 4.30 x 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)) is observed using a 6% methylacrylate (MAA) modified PMMA microchip. A 3% aminoethyl modified PMMA microchip exhibits a reversal of the electroosmotic mobility (for example, -5.6 x 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) at pH 3.0). The effects of the modifier loading and the pH on the EOF have been investigated for the MAA-modified PMMA chips. The bulk-modified devices exhibit reproducible and stable EOF behavior. The one step fabrication/modification protocol should further facilitate the widespread production of high-performance plastic microchip devices.     

Hot embossing of electrophoresis microchannels in PMMA substrates using electric heating wires

A simple method based on electric heating wires has been developed for the rapid fabrication of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) electrophoresis microchips in ordinary laboratories without the need for microfabrication facilities. A piece of stretched electric heating wire placed across the length of a PMMA plate along its midline was sandwiched between two microscope slides under pressure. Subsequently, alternating current was allowed to pass through the wire to generate heat to emboss a separation microchannel on the PMMA separation channel plate at room temperature. The injection channel was fabricated using the same procedure on a PMMA sheet that was perpendicular to the separation channel. The complete microchip was obtained by bonding the separation channel plate to the injection channel sheet, sealing the channels inside. The electric heating wires used in this work not only generated heat; they also served as templates for embossing the microchannels. The prepared microfluidic microchips have been successfully employed in the electrophoresis separation and detection of ions in connection with contactless conductivity detection.     

Protein separation using free‐flow electrophoresis microchip etched in a single step

A one‐step etching method was developed to fabricate glass free‐flow electrophoresis microchips with a rectangle separation microchamber (42 mm‐long, 23 mm‐wide and 28 μm‐deep), in which two glass bridges (0.5 mm‐wide) were made simultaneously to prevent bubbles formed by electrolysis near the Pt electrode from entering the separation chamber. By microchip free‐flow zone electrophoresis, with 200 V voltage applied, the baseline separation of three FITC labeled proteins, ribonuclease B, myoglobin and β‐lactoglobulin, was achieved, with resolution over 1.78. Furthermore, with 2.5 mM Na₂SO₄ added into the electrode buffer to form higher electrical field strength across separation microchamber than electrode compartments, similar resolution of samples was achieved with the applied voltage decreased to 75 V, which could obviously decrease Joule heat during continuous separation. All these results demonstrate that the free‐flow electrophoresis microchip fabricated by one‐step etching method is suitable for the continuous separation of proteins, which might become an effective pre‐fractionation method for proteome study.     

注塑型聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯多通道微流控芯片的研制及其性能考察

微流控芯片技术因具有微量、快速、高效和高通量等特点,已成为分析化学领域中的研究热点之一．在微流控芯片中,最常见的可用作芯片的材料为玻璃、石英和各种塑料．玻璃和石英有很好的电渗性和光学性质,可采用标准的刻蚀工艺加工和用化学方法进行表面改性,但加工成本较高,封接难度较大．     

A three-layer PMMA electrophoresis microchip with Pt microelectrodes insulated by a thin film for contactless conductivity detection

A three-layer poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) electrophoresis microchip integrated with Pt microelectrodes for contactless conductivity detection is presented. A 50 μm-thick PMMA film is used as the insulating layer and placed between the channel plate (containing the microchannel) and the electrode plate (containing the microelectrode). The three-layer structure facilitates the achievement of a thin insulating layer, obviates the difficulty of integrating microelectrodes on a thin film, and does not compromise the integration of microchips. To overcome the thermal and chemical incompatibilities of polymers and photolithographic techniques, a modified lift-off process was developed to integrate Pt microelectrodes onto the PMMA substrate. A novel two-step bonding method was created to assemble the complete PMMA microchip. A low limit of detection of 1.25 μg ml(-1) for Na(+) and high separation efficiency of 77,000 and 48,000 plates/m for Na(+) and K(+) were obtained when operating the detector at a low excitation frequency of 60 kHz.     

Modification of poly(methyl methacrylate) microchannels for highly efficient and reproducible electrophoretic separations of double-stranded DNA

This paper deals with dynamic coating of the microchannels fabricated on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) chips and DNA separation by microchip electrophoresis (MCE). After testing a number of polymers, including 2-hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, different sizes of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), we found that coating of the PMMA microchannels with PEO(Mr = 6.0 x 10(5) g/mol) on the first layer is essential to minimize the interaction of DNA with PMMA surface. To achieve high efficiency, multilayer coating of PMMA chips with PEO, PVP, and PEO containing gold nanoparticles [PEO(GNP)] is important. A 2-(PEO-PVP)-PEO(GNP) PMMA chip, which was repeatedly coated with 1.0% PEO and 5.0% PVP twice, and then coated with 0.75% PEO(GNP) each for 30 min, provided a high efficiency (up to 1.7 x 10(6) plates/m) for the separation of DNA markers V (pBR 322/HaeIII digest) and VI (pBR 328/BgiI digest and pBR 328/HinfI digest) when using 0.75% PEO(GNP). With such a high efficiency, we demonstrated the separation of hsp65 gene fragments of Mycobacterium HaeIII digests by MCE within 90 s. The advantages of this approach to DNA analysis include ease of filling the microchannel with 0.75% PEO(GNP), rapidity, and reproducibility.     

Separation of double-stranded DNA fragments in plastic capillary electrophoresis chips by using E99P69E99 as separation medium.

The separation of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) fragments in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) capillary electrophoresis (CE) chips by using E99P69E99 as a separation medium has been demonstrated. The PMMA CE chips were simply manufactured by micromachining and adhesive tape sealing. To make the separation channel compatible with the separation medium, a dynamic nonionic surfactant coating procedure was developed, which made the plastic separation channel sufficiently hydrophilic to allow the separation medium to fill the channel by capillary action. Subsequent separation of DNA fragments was successful with a separation efficiency of the order of 10(4) theoretical plates over an effective separation distance of 1.5 cm. By using an applied electric field strength of 200 V/cm, the separation of low DNA mass ladder was completed within 5 min. The simple coating procedure, together with the self-assembled viscosity-adjustable separation medium, should be useful to meet some of the essential requirements for developing single-use disposable CE chips. Coating the channels with polymer blends of PMMA and the separation medium also showed promise.     

Fast and simple sample introduction for capillary electrophoresis microsystems

A newly designed capillary electrophoresis (CE) microchip with a simple and efficient sample introduction interface is described. The sample introduction is carried out directly on the separation channel through a sharp inlet tip placed in the sample vial, without an injection cross, complex microchannel layouts or hardware modification. Alternate placement of the inlet tip in vials containing the sample and buffer solutions permits a volume defined electrokinetic sample introduction. Such fast and simple sample introduction leads to highly reproducible signals with no observable carry over between different analyte concentrations. The performance of the system was demonstrated in flow-injection and CE measurements of nitroaromatic explosives and for on-chip enzymatic assays of glucose in the presence of ascorbic acid. Employing an 8 cm long separation channel and a separation voltage of 4000 V it offers high-throughput flow-injection assays of 100 samples h(-1) with a relative standard deviation of 3.7% for TNT (n= 100). Factors influencing the analytical performance of the new microchip have been characterized and optimized. Such ability to continuously introduce discrete samples into micrometer channels indicates great promise for high-speed microchip analysis.     

Open-tubular nanoelectrochromatography (OT-NEC): gel-free separation of single stranded DNAs (ssDNAs) in thermoplastic nanochannels

Electrophoresis or electrochromatography carried out in nanometer columns (width and depth) offers some attractive benefits compared to microscale columns. These advantages include unique separation mechanisms that are scale dependent, fast separation times, and simpler workflow due to the lack of a need for column packing and/or wall coatings to create a stationary phase. We report the use of thermoplastics, in this case PMMA, as the substrate for separating single-stranded DNAs (ssDNAs). Electrophoresis nanochannels were created in PMMA using nanoimprint lithography (NIL), which can produce devices at lower cost and in a higher production mode compared to the fabrication techniques required for glass devices. The nanochannel column in PMMA was successful in separating ssDNAs in free solution that was not possible using microchip electrophoresis in PMMA. The separation could be performed in <1 s with resolution >1.5 when carried out using at an electric field strength of 280 V/cm and an effective column length of 60 μm (100 nm × 100 nm, depth and width). The ssDNAs transport through the PMMA column was driven electrokinetically under the influence of an EOF. The results indicated that the separation was dominated by chromatographic effects using an open tubular nano-electrochromatography (OT-NEC) mode of separation. Interesting to these separations was that no column packing was required nor a wall coating to create the stationary phase; the separation was affected using the native polymer that was UV/O₃ activated and an aqueous buffer mobile phase.     

Poly(methylmethacrylate) microchip electrophoresis of proteins using linear-poly(acrylamide) solutions as separation matrix.

Poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) microchip electrophoresis of sodium dodecyl sulfate-protein complexes (SDS-PC) using linear-poly(acrylamide) (L-PA) as a separation matrix was investigated. Prior to electrophoresis, channel walls of PMMA were modified with methylcellulose (MC) to prevent adsorption between channel walls and SDS-PC. Size-based protein separation (SBPS) was successfully performed using the MC-coated microchips with Ferguson plot-fittings. The entangled L-PA solution provided high resolution of peaks of SDS-PC when the concentration of L-PA was increased. Some investigations into the separation mechanism, such as the plot of the logarithm of mobility of each SDS-PC versus the logarithm of the molecular weight of the complex exhibiting linear behavior, indicated that the separation mechanism was dependent on mass discrimination, in accordance with Ogston model.     

Determination of the absolute mobility and the equivalent ionic conductivity of NpO2+ at 25 degrees C and at infinite dilution by capillary electrophoresis-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

The absolute mobility of NpO2+ and its equivalent ionic conductivity were extrapolated at 25 degrees C and at infinite dilution using a set of experimental data obtained at various ionic strengths. The separation was carried out by capillary electrophoresis (CE) at various concentrations of creatinine at a pH of 5. The detection of NpO2+ was performed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry coupled on-line with CE. The following values have been found: mu0NpO2+ (25 degrees C) = (2.94 +/- 0.07) x 10(-4) cm2 V(-1) s(-1) and lambda0NpO2+ (x 10(4), 25 degrees C) = 28.3 +/- 0.7 m2 S mol(-1).     

A simple PDMS-based electro-fluidic interface for microchip electrophoretic separations

High voltage electrodes for electrophoresis have been integrated into a polymer layer that can be reversibly bound to glass microchips for electrophoretic separations. By using the liquid precursor to the polymer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), platinum electrodes and reservoirs can be positioned prior to solidification, providing a simple and flexible method for electrode interface construction. Field strengths up to 875 V cm(-1) over an 8 cm separation channel can be applied to the system without any loss in performance of the interface. The interface can function as an electro-fluidic interface between the high voltage power supply and the separation channel and, when reversibly sealed to an etched glass plate, functions as a cover plate establishing a hybrid PDMS-glass microchip in which the electrodes are directly integrated onto the device. The versatility of this approach is not only demonstrated by separating DNA fragments in a novel buffer sieving matrix, but also with the molecular diagnostic analysis of a variety of DNA samples for Duschenne Muscular Dystrophy and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, using both microchip interface configurations.     

Rapid fabrication of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidic capillary gel electrophoresis system utilizing high precision machining

In this work, we demonstrate a rapid protocol to address one of the major barriers that exists in the fabrication of chip devices, creating the micron-sized structures in the substrate material. This approach makes it possible to design, produce, and fabricate a microfluidic system with channel features >10 microm in poly(dimethylsiloxane)(PDMS) in under 8 hours utilizing instrumentation common to most machine shops. The procedure involves the creation of a master template with negative features, using high precision machining. This master is then employed to create an acrylic mold that is used in the final fabrication step to cast channel structures into the PDMS substrate. The performance of the microfluidic system prepared using this fabrication procedure is evaluated by constructing a miniaturized capillary gel electrophoresis (micro-CGE) system for the analysis of DNA fragments. Agarose is utilized as the sieving medium in the micro-CGE device and is shown to give reproducible (RSD (n= 34) approximately 5.0%) results for about 34 individual separations without replenishing the gel. To demonstrate the functionality of the micro-CGE device, a DNA restriction ladder (spanning 26-700 base pairs) and DNA fragments generated by PCR are separated and detected with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The microchip is shown to achieve a separation efficiency of 2.53 x 10(5) plates m(-1).