Electrophoresis microchip fabricated by a direct-printing process with end-channel amperometric detection

We describe the development of an electrophoresis microchip fabricated by a direct-printing process, based on lamination of printed polyester films with end-channel amperometric detection. The channel structures are defined by polyester (base and cover) and by a toner layer (walls). The polyester-toner devices presented an electroosmotic flow (EOF) magnitude of approximately 10(-5) cm2 V(-1) s(-1), which is generated by a polymeric mixture of the toner and polyester composition. The microelectrodes used for detection were produced combining this laser-printer technology to compact discs. The performance of this device was evaluated by amperometric detection of iodide and ascorbate. The detection limits found were 500 nmol.L(-1) (135 amol) and 1.8 micromol.L(-1) (486 amol) for iodide and ascorbate, respectively.