Do-it-yourself microelectrophoresis chips with integrated sample recovery.

Area of Science:

• Microfluidics
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Microelectrophoresis offers high-resolution separations but often lacks efficient sample recovery.
• Traditional microchip fabrication requires specialized equipment and time.
• Integrating sample collection directly onto the microchip is a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel, easily fabricated microelectrophoresis chip.
• To incorporate an integrated system for on-chip sample collection.
• To demonstrate the utility of the microfluidic tectonics (microFT) platform for creating advanced microfluidic devices.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a microelectrophoresis chip using the microfluidic tectonics (microFT) platform.
• Design of a device with two orthogonal microchannels for separation and sample access.
• Incorporation of a removable capillary insert (RCI) with an integrated electrode for electrokinetic sample collection.
• Characterization using prestained proteins (Pierce BlueRanger and TriChromRanger) with an applied electrical field of 40 V/cm.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of the microelectrophoresis chip in under 20 minutes without specialized equipment.
• Demonstration of protein separation and collection using the RCI.
• Effective interface between microscale separation and macroscale sample recovery.

Conclusions:

• The developed microPAGE device is simple to fabricate and utilizes microscale analysis benefits.
• The integrated on-chip collection scheme provides a practical solution for sample recovery.
• This approach facilitates the interface between the microworld of analysis and the macroworld of sample handling.