Fabrication of a Microfluidic Flame Atomic Emission Spectrometer: a Flame-on-a-Chip

This work demonstrates for the first time the fabrication of a microfluidic flame atomic emission spectrometer (FAES), which incorporates a microburner and flame (flame-on-a-chip). An essential part of the device is a thermospray system applied for effective sample introduction, which is more easily miniaturizable and integrable than the conventional nebulization methods. The merits and limitations of the microfluidic flame atomic emission device were demonstrated and discussed. Using a commercial cigarette lighter including butane gas, the flame temperature made the analysis of the most easily excitable alkali metals possible. The calibration diagrams for Li, Na, and K showed proper linearity in the range of 5-100 mg/L. The analytical applicability of the microfluidic FAES device was tested by analyzing various real samples.