Polyester‐toner electrophoresis microchips with improved analytical performance and extended lifetime

Abstract

This paper reports the fabrication of polyester-toner (PT) electrophoresis microchips with improved analytical performance and extended lifetime. This has been achieved with a better understanding about the EOF generation and the influence of some parameters including the channel dimensions (width and depth), the injection mode, and the addition of organic solvent to the running buffer. The analytical performance of the PT devices was investigated using a capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector and inorganic cations as model analytes. The proposed devices have exhibited EOF values of (3.4 ± 0.2) × 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) with good stability over 25 consecutive runs. It has been found that the EOF magnitude depends on the channel dimension, i.e. the wider the channel, the higher the EOF value. The separation efficiency for inorganic cations ranged from 13 000 to 50 000 plates/m. The LOD found for K(+) , Na(+) , and Li(+) were 4.2, 7.3, and 23 μM, respectively. In addition, the same PT device has been used by three consecutive days. Lately, due to improved analytical performance, it was carried out by the first time the detection of inorganic cations in real samples such as energetic drinks and pharmaceutical formulations.

Electrodeposition of reduced graphene oxide on a Pt electrode and its use as amperometric sensor in microchip electrophoresis

“…The maximum theoretical efficiency ( N T ) calculated was ca. 5.8 × 10 6 plates/m, considering a 50 μm injection plug and a 3 cm channel effective length . The ratio between the experimental ( N E ) and theoretical efficiencies revealed a better performance with Pt‐ERG electrode.…”

Fast and versatile fabrication of PMMA microchip electrophoretic devices by laser engraving

“…Among those devices designed for custom analytical and bioanalytical applications, microchip electrophoresis (ME) devices are some of the most important ones [6][7][8]. A variety of strategies have been employed in the production of devices for ME ranging from standard photolithography [9] to rapid prototyping [10][11][12] and assembly [13]. Although photolithographic techniques have been traditionally used to produce high-end devices using silica-based substrates, the process can be time-consuming and render chips that are (often) too expensive for most research laboratories.…”

“…Although photolithographic techniques have been traditionally used to produce high-end devices using silica-based substrates, the process can be time-consuming and render chips that are (often) too expensive for most research laboratories. On the other extreme, techniques using paper and polyester-toner have been used to manufacture chips in less than 10 min with a cost lower than $ 0.10 per device, but the chemistry and topography of the materials often hinder the applicability of the technology [10,14,15]. Besides these examples, a range of polymers have emerged as alternative materials to fabricate ME devices [16][17][18][19].…”

Fast and versatile fabrication of PMMA microchip electrophoretic devices by laser engraving

“…Among those devices designed for custom analytical and bioanalytical applications, microchip electrophoresis (ME) devices are some of the most important ones [6–8]. A variety of strategies have been employed in the production of devices for ME ranging from standard photolithography [9] to rapid prototyping [10–12] and assembly [13]. Although photolithographic techniques have been traditionally used to produce high-end devices using silica-based substrates, the process can be time-consuming and render chips that are (often) too expensive for most research laboratories.…”

“…Although photolithographic techniques have been traditionally used to produce high-end devices using silica-based substrates, the process can be time-consuming and render chips that are (often) too expensive for most research laboratories. On the other extreme, techniques using paper and polyester-toner have been used to manufacture chips in less than 10 min with a cost lower than $ 0.10 per device, but the chemistry and topography of the materials often hinder the applicability of the technology [10, 14, 15]. Besides these examples, a range of polymers have emerged as alternative materials to fabricate ME devices [16–19].…”