A microfluidic chip platform with electrochemical carbon nanotube electrodes for pre-clinical evaluation of antibiotics nanocapsules

Microfluidic paper-based chip for parathion-methyl detection based on a double catalytic amplification strategy

The rapid detection of insecticides such as parathion-methyl (PM) requires methods with high sensitivities and selectivities. Herein, a dual catalytic amplification strategy was developed using Fe₃O₄ nanozyme-supported carbon quantum dots and silver terephthalate metal-organic frameworks (Fe₃O₄/C-dots@Ag-MOFs) as current amplification elements. Based on this strategy, a novel electrochemical microfluidic paper-based chip was designed to detect PM. Fe₃O₄/C-dots@Ag-MOFs were synthesised by a hydrothermal method, and a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was then synthesised on the surface of Fe₃O₄/C-dots@Ag-MOFs using PM as a template molecule. Finally, the reaction zone of a chip was modified with MIP/Fe₃O₄/C-dots@Ag-MOFs. PM from a sample introduced into the reaction zone was captured by the MIP, which generated a reduction current response at - 0.53 V in a three-electrode system embedded in the chip. Simultaneous catalysis by Fe₃O₄/C-dots and Ag-MOFs significantly enhanced the signal. The chip had a detection limit of 1.16 × 10^-11 mol L^-1 and was successfully applied to the determination of PM in agricultural products and environmental samples with recovery rates ranging from 82.7 to 109%, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of less than 5.0%. This approach of combining a dual catalytic amplification strategy with an MIP significantly increased the sensitivity as well as selectivity of chips and can potentially be used to detect a wide variety of target analytes using microfluidic paper-based chips.

Miniaturized high-performance liquid chromatography instrumentation

Miniaturized high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has attracted increasing attention for its potential in high-throughput analyses and point-of-care applications. In this review we highlight the recent advancements in HPLC system miniaturization. We focus on the major components that constitute these instruments along with their respective advantages and drawbacks as well as present a few representative miniaturized HPLC systems. We discuss briefly some of the applications and also anticipate the future development trends of these instrumental platforms.

A Simple Microfluidic Electrochemical HPLC Detector for Quantifying Fenton Reactivity from Welding Fumes

Development and characterization of a simple microfluidic electrochemical flow cell that can be coupled with HPLC to enable dual absorbance/electrochemical detection is described. Coupling absorbance and electrochemical detection increases the information that can be gathered from a single injection, but a second (typically expensive) detection system is required. Here, an inexpensive, customizable microfluidic electrochemical detector is coupled in series with a commercial HPLC/UV system. The microfluidic device is made from poly(dimethylsiloxane) and contains carbon paste electrodes. To demonstrate the utility of this dual-detection system, the reaction products of the radical scavenging agent salicylic acid and hydroxyl radical generated by Fenton chemistry were analyzed. The dual-detection system was used to quantify 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and catechol produced by the addition of H₂O₂ to filter samples of welding fumes. Measurement recovery was high, with percent recoveries between 97-102%, 92-103%, and 95-103% for 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and catechol, respectively, for control samples. The methods described in this work are simple, reliable, and can inexpensively couple electrochemical detection to HPLC-UV systems.

Glass/PDMS hybrid microfluidic device integrating vertically aligned SWCNTs to ultrasensitive electrochemical determinations

This communication reports a promising platform for rapid, simple, direct, and ultrasensitive determination of serotonin. The method is related to integration of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in electrochemical microfluidic devices. The required microfabrication protocol is simple and fast. In addition, the nanomaterial influenced remarkably the obtained limit-of-detection (LOD) values. Our system achieved a LOD of 0.2 nmol L(-1) for serotonin, to the best of our knowledge one of the lowest values reported in the literature.