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Picoliter droplet deposition using a prototype picoliter pipette: control parameters and application in micro X-ray
Ursula E A Fittschen1, George J Havrilla
1Chemical Diagnostics and Engineering, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Mail Stop K484, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA. Ursula.fittschen@chemie.uni-hamburg.de
Analytical Chemistry
|November 27, 2009
Summary
A new thermal inkjet picofluidic system (TIPS) precisely deposits picoliter volumes for analytical calibration. This method overcomes evaporation challenges, achieving <10% precision for elemental analysis using micro X-ray fluorescence.
Area of Science:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Accurate deposition of small liquid volumes is crucial for analytical chemistry and calibration.
- Evaporation significantly impacts the precision of picoliter-volume depositions, a challenge not as pronounced with microliter or nanoliter volumes.
- Micro X-ray fluorescence (MXRF) is a powerful analytical technique requiring well-characterized reference materials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and evaluate a novel thermal inkjet picofluidic system (TIPS) for precise analytical sample deposition.
- To investigate and mitigate the influence of evaporation on picoliter-volume depositions.
- To assess the performance of TIPS-generated deposits as reference materials for micro X-ray fluorescence (MXRF) analysis.
Main Methods:
- Development of a Hewlett-Packard prototype "thermal inkjet picofluidic system" (TIPS) with controlled energy and time settings.
- Implementation of strategies to reduce evaporation by parameter variation during picoliter deposition.
- Characterization of elemental deposits using micro X-ray fluorescence (MXRF) and assessment of deposit morphology via light microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM).
Main Results:
- Achieved precision of less than 10% for elemental depositions ranging from 1 to 300 picoliters (1-2000 pg).
- Determined MXRF instrument performance metrics including limit of detection (LOD), focal spot size, sensitivity, and precision.
- Demonstrated accurate calibration using TIPS deposits as reference materials, with deviations <10% compared to NIST SRMs.
Conclusions:
- The thermal inkjet picofluidic system (TIPS) offers a precise method for picoliter-volume deposition in analytical applications.
- Evaporation must be carefully managed for accurate picoliter-volume calibration.
- TIPS-generated deposits serve as reliable reference materials for micro X-ray fluorescence (MXRF) analysis.
