Rapid on-chip monitoring of chemical transformations by seamless coupling of digital microfluidics and mass spectrometry through a chip-integrated micro spray hole

数字微流体(DMF)代表了发明一种集成电路的理想愿景，在这种电路中，化学过程被数字控制并像魔术一样运行。要将DMF作为一种新型的合成发现平台，缺少的一环是芯片上特定于化学的实时分析。这将通过数字微流控和质谱仪的无缝耦合而成为可能。在我们最近工作的基础上，这将通过集成的微喷孔(μSH)和静电喷雾电离(ESTASI)的应用来实现，以将液滴分数从内部芯片转移到质谱仪。与当前技术状态相比，将保持DMF平台上液滴的完全流动性，这允许后续DMF过程的无故障处理。

Digital microfluidics (DMF) represents the ideal vision for the invention of an integrated chemical circuit in which chemical processes are digitally controlled and run as if by magic. The missing link to unlock DMF as a novel synthetic discovery platform is on-chip chemistry-specific real-time analytics. This will be made possible by seamlessly coupling digital microfluidics and mass spectrometry. Building on our recent work, this will be achieved through an integrated microspray hole (μSH) and the application of electrostatic spray ionisation (ESTASI) to transfer a droplet fraction from the inner chip to the mass spectrometer. In contrast to the current state of the art, the full mobility of the droplet on the DMF platform is to be maintained, which allows trouble-free processing of subsequent DMF processes.