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Separations in poly(dimethylsiloxane) microchips coated with supported bilayer membranes.
K Scott Phillips1, Sumith Kottegoda, Kyung Mo Kang
1Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.
Analytical Chemistry
|November 14, 2008
Summary
Supported bilayer membranes (SBMs) offer stable, reproducible microfluidic separations for dyes, peptides, and proteins. These advanced coatings enhance separation efficiency and resolution, proving ideal for biological applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Analytical Chemistry
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Hybrid microchannels are fabricated using poly(dimethylsiloxane) and glass.
- Supported bilayer membranes (SBMs) are formed via vesicle fusion for coating microchannels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the stability of zwitterionic, positively charged, and negatively charged phospholipid membranes in an electric field.
- To assess the separation capabilities of SBM-coated microfluidic devices for various analytes.
Main Methods:
- Coating hybrid microchannels with supported bilayer membranes (SBMs) using vesicle fusion.
- Measuring electroosmotic mobility (mu(eo)) of phospholipid membranes over 4 hours.
- Performing electrophoretic separations of fluorescent dyes, peptide substrates, and proteins in coated microchips.
Main Results:
- SBM coatings demonstrated high stability and reproducibility (better than 5% RSD over 70 min).
- Efficient separations of fluorescein and Oregon Green (resolution of 2.4 in 2 s).
- Successful separation of phosphorylated peptides and proteins (e.g., eGFP) with high efficiencies (up to 611,000 plates/m).
Conclusions:
- SBM-based coatings provide robust and efficient platforms for microfluidic separations.
- These coatings are suitable for separating a wide range of analytes, including biomolecules.
- The technology shows significant promise for biological applications in microfluidics.

