Recent advances in miniaturisation - The role of microchip electrophoresis in clinical analysis

Microdialysis as a tool for antibiotic assessment in patients with diabetic foot: a review

Diabetic foot is a serious late complication frequently caused by infection and ischaemia. Both require prompt and aggressive treatment to avoid lower limb amputation. The effectiveness of peripheral arterial disease therapy can be easily verified using triplex ultrasound, ankle-brachial/toe-brachial index examination, or transcutaneous oxygen pressure. However, the success of infection treatment is difficult to establish in patients with diabetic foot. Intravenous systemic antibiotics are recommended for the treatment of infectious complications in patients with moderate or serious stages of infection. Antibiotic therapy should be initiated promptly and aggressively to achieve sufficient serum and peripheral antibiotic concentrations. Antibiotic serum levels are easily evaluated by pharmacokinetic assessment. However, antibiotic concentrations in peripheral tissues, especially in diabetic foot, are not routinely detectable. This review describes microdialysis techniques that have shown promise in determining antibiotic levels in the surroundings of diabetic foot lesions.

A simple and reversible glass-glass bonding method to construct a microfluidic device and its application for cell recovery

Compared with polymer microfluidic devices, glass microfluidic devices have advantages for diverse lab-on-a-chip applications due to their rigidity, optical transparency, thermal stability, and chemical/biological inertness. However, the bonding process to construct glass microfluidic devices usually involves treatment(s) like high temperature over 400 °C, oxygen plasma or piranha solution. Such processes require special skill, apparatus or harsh chemicals, and destroy molecules or cells in microchannels. Here, we present a simple method for glass-glass bonding to easily form microchannels. This method consists of two steps: placing water droplets on a glass substrate cleaned by neutral detergent, followed by fixing a cover glass plate on the glass substrate by binding clips for a few hours at room temperature. Surface analyses showed that the glass surface cleaned by neutral detergent had a higher ratio of SiOH over SiO than glass surfaces prepared by other cleaning steps. Thus, the suggested method could achieve stronger glass-glass bonding via dehydration condensation due to the higher density of SiOH. The pressure endurance reached over 600 kPa within 6 h of bonding, which is sufficient for practical microfluidic applications. Moreover, by exploiting the reversibility of this bonding method, cell recoveries after cultivating cells in a microchannel were demonstrated. This new bonding method can significantly improve both the productivity and the usability of glass microfluidic devices and extend the possibility of glass microfluidic applications in future.

Voltage control for microchip capillary electrophoresis analyses

This paper presents an inexpensive and easy-to-implement voltage sequencer instrument for use in microchip capillary electrophoresis (MCE) actuation. The voltage sequencer instrument takes a 0-5 V input signal from a microcontroller and produces a reciprocally proportional voltage signal with the capability to achieve the voltages required for MCE actuation. The unit developed in this work features four independent voltage channels, measures 105 × 143 × 45 mm (width × length × height), and the cost to assemble is under 60 USD. The system is controlled by a peripheral interface controller and commands are given via universal serial bus connection to a personal computer running a command line graphical user interface. The performance of the voltage sequencer is demonstrated by its integration with a fluorescence spectroscopy MCE sensor using pinched sample injection and electrophoretic separation to detect ciprofloxacin in samples of milk. This application is chosen as it is particularly important for the dairy industry, where fines and health concerns are associated with the shipping of antibiotic-contaminated milk. The voltage sequencer instrument presented represents an effective low-cost instrumentation method for conducting MCE, thereby making these experiments accessible and affordable for use in industries such as the dairy industry.

An Integrated Portable Multiplex Microchip Device for Fingerprinting Chemical Warfare Agents

The rapid and reliable detection of chemical and biological agents in the field is important for many applications such as national security, environmental monitoring, infectious diseases screening, and so on. Current commercially available devices may suffer from low field deployability, specificity, and reproducibility, as well as a high false alarm rate. This paper reports the development of a portable lab-on-a-chip device that could address these issues. The device integrates a polymer multiplexed microchip system, a contactless conductivity detector, a data acquisition and signal processing system, and a graphic/user interface. The samples are pre-treated by an on-chip capillary electrophoresis system. The separated analytes are detected by conductivity-based microsensors. Extensive studies are carried out to achieve satisfactory reproducibility of the microchip system. Chemical warfare agents soman (GD), sarin (GB), O-ethyl S-[2-diisoproylaminoethyl] methylphsophonothioate (VX), and their degradation products have been tested on the device. It was demonstrated that the device can fingerprint the tested chemical warfare agents. In addition, the detection of ricin and metal ions in water samples was demonstrated. Such a device could be used for the rapid and sensitive on-site detection of both chemical and biological agents in the future.

Aptamer-Based Microchip Electrophoresis Assays for Amplification Detection of Carcinoembryonic Antigen

Microchip electrophoresis (MCE), regarded as a miniaturized version of capillary electrophoresis (CE), has exhibited prominent advantages in terms of low sample consumption, rapid analysis times, easy operation, efficient resolution of compounds, and increased throughput. This technology has led to more research focus on analysis particularly in hospital settings for clinical diagnostics. However, since the channels in microchip are very small, achieving the desired assay sensitivity on a microfluidic platform remains a challenge. Here, we describe aptamer-based MCE assays for amplification detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in human serum.

A G-quadruplex/hemin DNAzyme-based microchip electrophoresis chemiluminescence assay for highly sensitive detection of biotin in flour

Quantitative analysis of biotin in biological fluids, foods, and pharmaceutical is important for diagnosis and treatment of biotin-related diseases and health maintenance. In this work, a novel G-quadruplex/hemin DNAzyme-based microchip electrophoresis chemiluminescence (CL) assay method was established for rapid and highly sensitive detection of biotin. This method is based on the specific binding between biotin and streptavidin, the catalytic CL characteristics of G-quadruplex/hemin DNAzyme to the oxidation-reduction reaction of hydrogen peroxide with luminol, and the on-line separation function of microchip electrophoresis. Under the optimal experimental conditions, on-chip biotin analysis was achieved within 1 min. The CL intensity is linearly proportional to the concentration of biotin in the range of 13-630 nM with a detection limit of 6.4 nM. The proposed method has been applied for the detection of biotin in flour, biotin contents in three flour samples are found in the range of 199-223 ng/g with a mean value of 214 ng/g. The recoveries were in the range of 94-103%. With excellent sensitivity and good selectivity, the proposed method could be applied in a wide range of biological fluids, foods, and pharmaceutical analysis.

Rapid analysis of intraperitoneally administered morphine in mouse plasma and brain by microchip electrophoresis-electrochemical detection

Animal studies remain an essential part of drug discovery since in vitro models are not capable of describing the complete living organism. We developed and qualified a microchip electrophoresis-electrochemical detection (MCE-EC) method for rapid analysis of morphine in mouse plasma using a commercial MCE-EC device. Following liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), we achieved within-run precision of 3.7 and 4.5% (coefficient of variation, CV, n = 6) and accuracy of 106.9% and 100.7% at biologically relevant morphine concentrations of 5 and 20 µM in plasma, respectively. The same method was further challenged by morphine detection in mouse brain homogenates with equally good within-run precision (7.8% CV, n = 5) at 1 µM concentration. The qualified method was applied to analyze a set of plasma and brain homogenate samples derived from a behavioral animal study. After intraperitoneal administration of 20 mg/kg morphine hydrochloride, the detected morphine concentrations in plasma were between 6.7 and 17 µM. As expected, the morphine concentrations in the brain were significantly lower, ca. 80–125 nM (280–410 pg morphine/mg dissected brain), and could only be detected after preconcentration achieved during LLE. In all, the microchip-based separation system is proven feasible for rapid analysis of morphine to provide supplementary chemical information to behavioral animal studies.

Rapid two-dimensional characterisation of proteins in solution

Microfluidic platforms provide an excellent basis for working with heterogeneous samples and separating biomolecular components at high throughput, with high recovery rates and by using only very small sample volumes. To date, several micron scale platforms with preparative capabilities have been demonstrated. Here we describe and demonstrate a microfluidic device that brings preparative and analytical operations together onto a single chip and thereby allows the acquisition of multidimensional information. We achieve this objective by using a free-flow electrophoretic separation approach that directs fractions of sample into an on-chip analysis unit, where the fractions are characterised through a microfluidic diffusional sizing process. This combined approach therefore allows simultaneously quantifying the sizes and the charges of components in heterogenous mixtures. We illustrate the power of the platform by describing the size distribution of a mixture comprising components which are close in size and cannot be identified as individual components using state-of-the-art solution sizing techniques on their own. Furthermore, we show that the platform can be used for two-dimensional fingerprinting of heterogeneous protein mixtures within tens of seconds, opening up a possibility to obtain multiparameter data on biomolecular systems on a minute timescale.

Direct sample injection from a syringe needle into a separation capillary

An automatic micro-injector was developed for electrophoretic analysis of a microlitre amount of clinical samples, enabling injection of the sample from a Hamilton syringe. The outlet of the syringe needle is located directly opposite the inlet of the separation capillary at a defined distance of the order of hundreds of μm in the injection space. During the injection, the background electrolyte is forced out by air from this space and a drop of the sample is forced out of the syringe by a micro-pump so that it is caught at the entrance to the capillary. From the drop the sample is injected into the capillary by applying a negative pressure pulse or simply by spontaneous injection. The injection space is then filled with background electrolyte, which washes away excess sample and separation is commenced. The injector was tested in electrophoretic separation of a model sample with equimolar concentrations of 100 μM NH₄⁺, K⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺ and Li⁺ in a short capillary with total/effective length of 16.5/11.5 cm. The repeatability of the migration time and peak area expressed as the RSD value is 2% and 4%, respectively. The practical applicability of the injector was verified on the determination of the antiparasitic pentamidine in 10 μL of rat plasma. Electrophoretic separation of pentamidine was performed in 100 mM of acetic acid/NaOH at pH 4.55, the sample consumption per analysis is 125 nL, the separation time is 45 s and the attained LOQ using contactless conductivity detection is 8 μM.

Novel volumetric method for highly repeatable injection in microchip electrophoresis

A novel injector for microchip electrophoresis (MCE) has been designed and evaluated that achieves very high repeatability of injection volume suitable for quantitative analysis. It eliminates the injection biases in electrokinetic injection and the dependence on pressure and sample properties in hydrodynamic injection. The microfluidic injector, made of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), operates similarly to an HPLC injection valve. It contains a channel segment (chamber) with a well-defined volume that serves as an "injection loop". Using on-chip microvalves, the chamber can be connected to the sample source during the "loading" step, and to the CE separation channel during the "injection" step. Once the valves are opened in the second state, electrophoretic potential is applied to separate the sample. For evaluation and demonstration purposes, the microinjector was connected to a 75 μm ID capillary and UV absorbance detector. For single compounds, a relative standard deviation (RSD) of peak area as low as 1.04% (n = 11) was obtained, and for compound mixtures, RSD as low as 0.40% (n = 4) was observed. Using the same microchip, the performance of this new injection technique was compared to hydrodynamic injection and found to have improved repeatability and less dependence on sample viscosity. Furthermore, a non-radioactive version of the positron-emission tomography (PET) imaging probe, FLT, was successfully separated from its known 3 structurally-similar byproducts with baseline resolution, demonstrating the potential for rapid, quantitative analysis of impurities to ensure the safety of batches of short-lived radiotracers. Both the separation efficiency and injection repeatability were found to be substantially higher when using the novel volumetric injection approach compared to electrokinetic injection (performed in the same chip). This novel microinjector provides a straightforward way to improve the performance of hydrodynamic injection and enables extremely repeatable sample volume injection in MCE. It could be used in any MCE application where volume repeatability is needed, including the quantitation of impurities in pharmaceutical or radiopharmaceutical samples.

Fabrication of anti-protein-fouling poly(ethylene glycol) microfluidic chip electrophoresis by sandwich photolithography

Microfluidic chip electrophoresis (MCE) is a powerful separation tool for biomacromolecule analysis. However, adsorption of biomacromolecules, particularly proteins onto microfluidic channels severely degrades the separation performance of MCE. In this paper, an anti-protein-fouling MCE was fabricated using a novel sandwich photolithography of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) prepolymers. Photopatterned microchannel with a minimum resolution of 10 μm was achieved. After equipped with a conventional online electrochemical detector, the device enabled baseline separation of bovine serum albumin, lysozyme (Lys), and cytochrome c (Cyt-c) in 53 s under a voltage of 200 V. Compared with a traditional polydimethylsiloxane MCE made by soft lithography, the PEG MCE made by the sandwich photolithography not only eliminated the need of a master mold and the additional modification process of the microchannel but also showed excellent anti-protein-fouling properties for protein separation.

Aptamer-based microchip electrophoresis assays for amplification detection of carcinoembryonic antigen

BACKGROUND

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as one of the most widely used tumor markers is used in the clinical diagnosis of colorectal, pancreatic, gastric, and cervical carcinomas. We developed an aptamer-based microchip electrophoresis assay technique for assaying CEA in human serum for cancer diagnosis.

METHODS

The magnetic beads (MBs) are employed as carriers of double strand DNA that is formed by an aptamer of the target and a complementary DNA of the aptamer. After the aptamer in the MB-dsDNA conjugate binds with the target, the complementary DNA was released from the MB-dsDNA conjugate. The released complementary DNA hybridizes with a fluorescein amidite (FAM) labeled DNA, and forms a DNA duplex, which triggers the selective cleavage of FAM labeled DNA by nicking endonuclease Nb.BbvCI, and generating a FAM labeled DNA segment. The released complementary DNA hybridizes with another FAM labeled DNA, resulting in a continuous cleavage of FAM labeled DNA, and the generation of large numbers of FAM labeled DNA segments. In MCE laser induced fluorescence detection (LIF), the FAM labeled DNA segment is separated and detected.

RESULTS

The linear range for CEA was 130 pg/ml-8.0 ng/ml with a correlation coefficient of 0.9916 and a detection limit of 68 pg/ml. The CEA concentration in the serum samples from healthy subjects was found to be in the range 1.3 ng/ml to 3.2 ng/ml. The CEA concentration in the samples from cancer patients was found to be >15 ng/ml.

CONCLUSIONS

This method may become a useful tool for rapid analysis of CEA and other tumor markers in biomedical analysis and clinical diagnosis.

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.

Improvement in the sensitivity of microfluidic ELISA through field amplified stacking of the enzyme reaction product

In this article, we demonstrate a novel approach to enhancing the sensitivity of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) through pre-concentration of the enzyme reaction product (resorufin/4-methylumbelliferone) in free solution. The reported pre-concentration was accomplished by transporting the resorufin/4-methylumbelliferone molecules produced in the ELISA process towards a high ionic-strength buffer stream in a microfluidic channel while applying a voltage drop across this merging region. A sharp change in the electric field around the junction of the two liquid streams was observed to abruptly slow down the negatively charged resorufin/4-methylumbelliferone species leading to the reported pre-concentration effect based on the field amplified stacking (FAS) technique. It has been shown that the resulting enhancement in the detectability of the enzyme reaction product significantly improves the signal-to-noise ratio in the system thereby reducing the smallest detectable analyte concentration in the ELISA method. Applying the above-described approach, we were able to detect mouse anti-BSA and human TNF-α at concentrations nearly 60-fold smaller than that possible on commercial microwell plates. For the human TNF-α sample, this improvement in assay sensitivity corresponded to a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.102pg mL(-1) using the FAS based microfluidic ELISA method as compared to 7.03pg mL(-1) obtained with the traditional microwell plate based approach. Moreover, because our ELISAs were performed in micrometer sized channels, they required sample volumes about two orders of magnitude smaller than that consumed in the latter case (1μL versus 100μL).

Recent developments in microfluidic chip-based separation devices coupled to MS for bioanalysis

In recent years, the development of microfluidic chip separation devices coupled to MS has dramatically increased for high-throughput bioanalysis. In this review, advances in different types of microfluidic chip separation devices, such as electrophoresis- and LC-based microchips, as well as 2D design of microfluidic chip-based separation devices will be discussed. In addition, the utilization of chip-based separation devices coupled to MS for analyzing peptides/proteins, glycans, drug metabolites and biomarkers for various bioanalytical applications will be evaluated.

Identification of osteoarthritis biomarkers by proteomic analysis of synovial fluid

OBJECTIVE

To use proteomic analysis to identify novel candidate biomarker proteins in synovial fluid for the differential diagnosis of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

METHODS

Synovial fluid samples were analysed using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS). Data were used to generate an artificial neural network (ANN). The identification of one protein peak was confirmed via Western blotting.

RESULTS

Fluid samples were analysed from 36 patients with osteoarthritis and 24 with rheumatoid arthritis. In total, three protein peaks (mass-to-charge ratio [m/z] 3893, 10,576 and 14,175 Da) were identified as potential biomarkers for osteoarthritis. The ANN differentiated between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis with a sensitivity of 89.4% and a specificity of 91.2%. The protein peak at m/z 10 576 was identified as S100 calcium binding protein A12 (S100A12).

CONCLUSIONS

A combination of SELDI-TOF-MS and ANN identified osteoarthritis biomarkers. SELDI-TOF-MS may be a useful tool in the screening of synovial fluid for osteoarthritis diagnosis.

Recent advances in the development of single cell analysis--a review

Development of techniques for the analysis of the content of individual cells represents an important direction in modern bioanalytical chemistry. While the analysis of chromosomes, organelles, or location of selected proteins has been traditionally the domain of microscopic techniques, the advances in miniaturized analytical systems bring new possibilities for separations and detections of molecules inside the individual cells including smaller molecules such as hormones or metabolites. It should be stressed that the field of single cell analysis is very broad, covering advanced optical, electrochemical and mass spectrometry instrumentation, sensor technology and separation techniques. The number of papers published on single cell analysis has reached several hundred in recent years. Thus a complete literature coverage is beyond the limits of a journal article. The following text provides a critical overview of some of the latest developments with the main focus on mass spectrometry, microseparation methods, electrophoresis in capillaries and microfluidic devices and respective detection techniques for performing single cell analyses.

Label-free fluorescence detection of aromatic compounds in chip electrophoresis applying two-photon excitation and time-correlated single-photon counting

In this study, we introduce time-resolved fluorescence detection with two-photon excitation at 532 nm for label-free analyte determination in microchip electrophoresis. In the developed method, information about analyte fluorescence lifetimes is collected by time-correlated single-photon counting, improving reliable peak assignment in electrophoretic separations. The determined limits of detection for serotonin, propranolol, and tryptophan were 51, 37, and 280 nM, respectively, using microfluidic chips made of fused silica. Applying two-photon excitation microchip separations and label-free detection could also be performed in borosilicate glass chips demonstrating the potential for label-free fluorescence detection in non-UV-transparent devices. Microchip electrophoresis with two-photon excited fluorescence detection was then applied for analyses of active compounds in plant extracts. Harmala alkaloids present in methanolic plant extracts from Peganum harmala could be separated within seconds and detected with on-the-fly determination of fluorescence lifetimes.

A thermally responsive phospholipid pseudogel: tunable DNA sieving with capillary electrophoresis

In an aqueous solution the phospholipids dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) and 1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DHPC) self-assemble to form thermo-responsive non-Newtonian fluids (i.e., pseudogels) in which small temperature changes of 5-6 °C decrease viscosity dramatically. This characteristic is useful for sieving-based electrophoretic separations (e.g., of DNA), as the high viscosity of linear sieving additives, such as linear polyacrylamide or polyethylene oxide, hinders the introduction and replacement of the sieving agent in microscale channels. Advantages of utilizing phospholipid pseudogels for sieving are the ease with which they are introduced into the separation channel and the potential to implement gradient separations. Capillary electrophoresis separations of DNA are achieved with separation efficiencies ranging from 400,000 to 7,000,000 theoretical plates in a 25 μm i.d. fused silica capillary. Assessment of the phospholipid pseudogel with a Ferguson plot yields an apparent pore size of ~31 nm. Under isothermal conditions, Ogston sieving is achieved for DNA fragments smaller than 500 base pairs, whereas reptation-based transport occurs for DNA fragments larger than 500 base pairs. Nearly single base resolution of short tandem repeats relevant to human identification is accomplished with 30 min separations using traditional capillary electrophoresis instrumentation. Applications that do not require single base resolution are completed with faster separation times. This is demonstrated for a multiplex assay of biallelic single nucleotide polymorphisms relevant to warfarin sensitivity. The thermo-responsive pseudogel preparation described here provides a new innovation to sieving-based capillary separations.