Integrated isotachophoretic preconcentration with zone electrophoresis separation on a quartz microchip for UV detection of flavonoids

Microfluidic Techniques for Analytes Concentration

Microfluidics has been undergoing fast development in the past two decades due to its promising applications in biotechnology, medicine, and chemistry. Towards these applications, enhancing concentration sensitivity and detection resolution are indispensable to meet the detection limits because of the dilute sample concentrations, ultra-small sample volumes and short detection lengths in microfluidic devices. A variety of microfluidic techniques for concentrating analytes have been developed. This article presents an overview of analyte concentration techniques in microfluidics. We focus on discussing the physical mechanism of each concentration technique with its representative advancements and applications. Finally, the article is concluded by highlighting and discussing advantages and disadvantages of the reviewed techniques.

Pharmacokinetics study of isorhamnetin in rat plasma by a sensitive electrochemical sensor based on reduced graphene oxide

A sensitive voltammetric method was developed for the determination of isorhamnetin and its pharmacokinetics investigation.

An overview of the use of microchips in electrophoretic separation techniques: fabrication, separation modes, sample preparation opportunities, and on-chip detection

This chapter is intended as a basic introduction to microchip-based capillary electrophoresis to set the scene for newcomers and give pointers to reference material. An outline of some commonly used setups and key concepts is given, many of which are explored in greater depth in later chapters.

Rapid concentration of deoxyribonucleic acid via Joule heating induced temperature gradient focusing in poly-dimethylsiloxane microfluidic channel

This paper reports rapid microfluidic electrokinetic concentration of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) with the Joule heating induced temperature gradient focusing (TGF) by using our proposed combined AC and DC electric field technique. A peak of 480-fold concentration enhancement of DNA sample is achieved within 40s in a simple poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic channel of a sudden expansion in cross-section. Compared to a sole DC field, the introduction of an AC field can reduce DC field induced back-pressure and produce sufficient Joule heating effects, resulting in higher concentration enhancement. Within such microfluidic channel structure, negative charged DNA analytes can be concentrated at a location where the DNA electrophoretic motion is balanced with the bulk flow driven by DC electroosmosis under an appropriate temperature gradient field. A numerical model accounting for a combined AC and DC field and back-pressure driven flow effects is developed to describe the complex Joule heating induced TGF processes. The experimental observation of DNA concentration phenomena can be explained by the numerical model.

Band-broadening suppressed effect in long turned geometry channel and high-sensitive analysis of DNA sample by using floating electrokinetic supercharging on a microchip

A featured microchip owning three big reservoirs and long turned geometry channel was designed to improve the detection limit of DNA fragments by using floating electrokinetic supercharging (FEKS) method. The novel design matches the FEKS preconcentration needs of a large sample volume introduction with electrokinetic injection (EKI), as well as long duration of isotachophoresis (ITP) process to enrich low concentration sample. In the curved channel [ approximately 45.6 mm long between port 1 (P1) and the intersection point of two channels], EKI and ITP were performed while the side port 3 (P3) was electrically floated. The turn-induced band broadening with or without ITP process was investigated by a computer simulation (using CFD-ACE+ software) when the analytes traveling through the U-shaped geometry. It was found that the channel curvature determined the extent of band broadening, however, which could be effectively eliminated by the way of ITP. After the ITP-stacked zones passed the intersection point from P1, they were rapidly destacked for separation and detection from ITP to zone electrophoresis by using leading ions from P3. The FEKS carried on the novel chip successfully contributed to higher sensitivities of DNA fragments in comparison with our previous results realized on either a single channel or a cross microchip. The analysis of low concentration 50 bp DNA step ladders (0.23 mugml after 1500-fold diluted) was achieved with normal UV detection at 260 nm. The obtained limit of detections (LODs) were on average 100 times better than using conventional pinched injection, down to several ngml for individual DNA fragment.

Characterization of drug metabolites and cytotoxicity assay simultaneously using an integrated microfluidic device

An integrated microfluidic device was developed for the characterization of drug metabolites and a cytotoxicity assay simultaneously. The multi-layer device was composed of a quartz substrate with embedded separation microchannels and a perforated three-microwell array containing sol-gel bioreactors of human liver microsome (HLM), and two PDMS layers. By aligning the microwell array on the quartz substrate with cell culture chambers on the bottom PDMS layer, drug metabolism studies related to functional units, including metabolite generation, detection and incubation with cultured cells to assess metabolism induced cytotoxicity, were all integrated into the microfluidic device. To validate the feasibility of drug metabolism study on the microfluidic chip, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) metabolism of acetaminophen (AP) and its effect on hepG2 cytotoxicity were studied first. Then metabolism based drug-drug interaction between AP and phenytoin (PH), which resulted in increased hepG2 cytotoxicity, was proved on this device. All this demonstrated that the developed microfluidic device could be a potential useful tool for drug metabolism and metabolism based drug-drug interaction research.

Recent progress of online sample preconcentration techniques in microchip electrophoresis

Microchip electrophoresis (MCE) has been advanced remarkably by the applications of several separation modes and the integration with several chemical operations on a single planer substrate. MCE shows superior analytical performance, e.g., high-speed analysis, high resolution, low consumption of reagents, and so on, whereas low-concentration sensitivity is still one of the major problems. To overcome this drawback, various online sample preconcentration techniques have been developed in MCE over the past 15 years, which have successfully enhanced the detection sensitivity in MCE. This review highlights recent developments in online sample preconcentration in MCE categorized on the basis of "dynamic" and "static" methods. The dynamic techniques including field amplified stacking, ITP, sweeping, and focusing have been easily applied to MCE, which provide effective enrichments of various analytes. The static techniques such as SPE and filtration have also been combined with MCE. In the static techniques, extremely high preconcentration efficiency can be obtained, compared to the dynamic methods. This review provides comprehensive tables listing the applications and sensitivity enhancement factors of these preconcentration techniques employed in MCE.

A low-leakage sample plug injection scheme for crossform microfluidic capillary electrophoresis devices incorporating a restricted cross-channel intersection

This study develops a crossform CE microfluidic device in which a single-circular barrier or a double-circular barrier is introduced at the cross-channel intersection. Utilizing a conventional crossform injection scheme, it is shown that these barriers reduce sample leakage and deliver a compact sample band into the separation channel, thereby ensuring an enhanced detection performance. A series of numerical and experimental investigations are performed to investigate the effects of the barrier type and the barrier ratio on the flow streamlines within the microchannel and to clarify their respective effects on the sample leakage ratio and sample plug variance during the injection process. The results indicate that a single-circular barrier injector with a barrier ratio greater than 20% and a double-circular barrier injector with a barrier ratio greater than 40% minimize the sample leakage ratio and produce a compact sample plug. As a result, both injectors have an excellent potential for use in high-quality, high-throughput chemical analysis procedures and in many other applications throughout the micro-total analysis systems field.

Microchip capillary electrophoresis for frontal analysis of free bilirubin and study of its interaction with human serum albumin

To meet the need for bedside monitoring of free bilirubin for neonates under critical conditions, a microfluidic chip was fabricated and tested for its coupling with CE/frontal analysis (FA) to determine free bilirubin and study of its binding interaction with HSA, which regulated its concentration in plasma. The poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) multichannel chip was fabricated by CO2 laser ablation and bonded with a fused-silica separation capillary for CE/FA separation with UV detection. The chip was designed to allow a complete assay of four electrophoretic runs using preconditioned channels to speed up the determination of free bilirubin and to deliver quick results for bedside monitoring. Under optimized conditions, the linear working range for free bilirubin was from 10 to 200 micromol with RSDs from 2.1 to 5.0% for n=3, and the LOD at 9 micromol for S/N=3. From a binding study between bilirubin and HSA under FA condition, the second binding constant for bilirubin-HSA was determined as 1.07x10(5) L/mol and the number of binding sites per HSA as 3.46. The results enabled the calculation of free bilirubin for jaundiced infants based on the clinically significant level of total bilirubin, producing a range of 118.3-119.4 micromol/L. The developed method is shown to meet the clinical requirement with additional margin of protection to detect the early rising level of free bilirubin prior to jaundice condition. The low-cost microchip CE/FA device is shown to produce quick results with high potential to deliver a suitable bed-side monitoring method for bilirubin management in neonates.

Electrophoretic separations on microfluidic chips

This review presents a brief outline and novel developments of electrophoretic separation in microfluidic chips. Distinct characteristics of microchip electrophoresis (MCE) are discussed first, in which sample injection plug, joule heat, channel turn, surface adsorption and modification are introduced, and some successful strategies and recognized conclusions are also included. Important achievements of microfluidic electrophoresis separation in small molecules, DNA and protein are then summarized. This review is aimed at researchers, who are interested in MCE and want to adopt MCE as a functional unit in their integrated microsystems.

Optofluidic integration for microanalysis

This review describes recent research in the application of optical techniques to microfluidic systems for chemical and biochemical analysis. The "lab-on-a-chip" presents great benefits in terms of reagent and sample consumption, speed, precision, and automation of analysis, and thus cost and ease of use, resulting in rapidly escalating adoption of microfluidic approaches. The use of light for detection of particles and chemical species within these systems is widespread because of the sensitivity and specificity which can be achieved, and optical trapping, manipulation and sorting of particles show significant benefits in terms of discrimination and reconfigurability. Nonetheless, the full integration of optical functions within microfluidic chips is in its infancy, and this review aims to highlight approaches, which may contribute to further miniaturisation and integration.

A hybrid microdevice with a thin PDMS membrane on the detection window for UV absorbance detection

We exploited a PDMS-quartz hybrid microchip with a thin PDMS membrane on the concave detection window for UV absorbance detection. The thickness of the PDMS membrane is about 100 mum, with high UV transmittance. As compared to a PDMS-quartz hybrid chip with a common detection window, the proposed one exhibited over an one order of magnitude sensitivity enhancement, and an about two orders of magnitude S/N increase for gastrodin (p-hydroxymethylphenyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside). In addition, the limit of the detection wavelength has been extended from 240 to 210 nm, which is otherwise impossible for a traditional PDMS-quartz hybrid microchip. This kind of microchip has the potential for a large range of applications in an integrated microfluidic system with UV detection.