Methods and compositions for conducting processes in microfluidic devices
First Claim
1. A method for transporting a liquid containing at least two chemical components in a selected direction in a channel of a microfluidic system, by electrokinesis, wherein said at least two chemical components include a protein having one charge at a selected buffer pH and another component having the opposite charge at the same pH, said method comprising(a) selecting a microfluidic system having a channel formed of an acrylic-based polymer;
- (b) exposing the walls of the channel to a solution containing 0.0015% to 5% weight percent of a charged hydrophilic amine polymer, wherein charges on said charged hydrophilic polymer are randomly distributed;
(c) after said exposing, filling the channel with a solution containing the at least two chemical components at the selected pH; and
(d) applying a voltage from one point along said channel to a different point along said channel whereby the differently charged chemical components are transported in said selected direction along said channel.
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Abstract
A method is disclosed for controlling the direction and transport of a material on a microfluidic device formed from an acrylic polymer, by electrokinetic flow of a fluid containing the material. The method comprises providing an electrokinesis buffer containing a charged hydrophilic polymer, wherein charges on the polymer are randomly distributed. The method has applications for improved transport of proteins and transport of materials comprising differentially charged chemical species. A preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises use of the disclosed method for electrokinetic separations of a mixture of polypeptides having both positive and negative charges. Another preferred embodiment concerns use of the disclosed method for performing an assay involving mixing of two or more reagents, wherein a first reagent comprises an enzyme and a second reagent comprises species having an opposite charge to the enzyme.
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7 Claims
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1. A method for transporting a liquid containing at least two chemical components in a selected direction in a channel of a microfluidic system, by electrokinesis, wherein said at least two chemical components include a protein having one charge at a selected buffer pH and another component having the opposite charge at the same pH, said method comprising
(a) selecting a microfluidic system having a channel formed of an acrylic-based polymer; -
(b) exposing the walls of the channel to a solution containing 0.0015% to 5% weight percent of a charged hydrophilic amine polymer, wherein charges on said charged hydrophilic polymer are randomly distributed;
(c) after said exposing, filling the channel with a solution containing the at least two chemical components at the selected pH; and
(d) applying a voltage from one point along said channel to a different point along said channel whereby the differently charged chemical components are transported in said selected direction along said channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
mixing the two reagents, wherein said exposing includes moving polymer from each of the two reservoirs through said channel, and said applying includes applying a same-polarity voltage across each reservoir and said channel, at the selected pH, to cause the two reagents to mix in the common channel.
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Specification