Electroosmotic Pump for Microchip HPLC

描述(申请人提供)：创建芯片实验室的概念旨在整合和执行多种分析过程(例如，样品前处理、溶液分配/混合、分离、检测等)。在微芯片平台上。到目前为止，芯片实验室的研究大多集中在电泳分离上，而在多工艺集成方面的工作相对较少。工艺集成有限的主要原因之一是缺乏一种坚固耐用的小型化泵，这种泵很容易与芯片上的实验室设备集成在一起。微芯片高效液相色谱被认为将在护理点(POC)测量和化学和生物作战剂(CBWA)检测中发挥重要作用。它可以高度并行化，以增加样本吞吐量(例如，用于药物化合物筛选)，这将对药物筛选和生物标记物的发现产生重大影响。微芯片高效液相色谱与质谱仪相结合，可以加快蛋白质组学研究的速度，大大降低蛋白质组学研究成本。微芯片高效液相色谱面临的一个主要挑战是缺乏一种坚固耐用的小型化高压泵，这种泵可与芯片上的实验室设备集成。可靠的芯片上样品进样阀的可用性是这些应用的另一个障碍。为了解决这些问题，我们建议开发一种串联式明渠EO泵和一种芯片上的样品注射阀。梯级泵将由交替排列的“”和“-”泵组成。该泵将能够产生高达5L/分钟的流量和高达1000磅/平方英寸的压力，适用于微芯片高效液相色谱应用。我们将开发一种无泡电极来解决电气连接问题。该电极将能够在EO泵上施加高电压，同时防止泵溶液泄漏。此外，它还可以最大限度地减少泵液成分的变化，消除因电解而形成的气泡。我们还将开发一种用于微芯片高效液相色谱分离的芯片上样品进样阀。该阀门将有一个从亚NL到5L的注射体积，并且注射体积将是可重复的。所有这些功能不同的组件都将与芯片实验室设备集成。 与公众健康相关：我们将开发一个微芯片平台，该平台集成了级联明渠EO泵、片上进样阀、整体柱分离柱和片上检测方案，以进行高效液相色谱分析。该级联泵将由交替排列的“”和“-”泵组成，可产生高达15L/分钟的流量和高达1000磅/平方英寸的压力，适用于微芯片高效液相色谱应用。我们将开发一种无泡电极，能够在向EO泵施加高压的同时防止泵溶液泄漏，并消除因电解而形成的气泡。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The concept of lab-on-chip is created with an objective to integrate and perform multiple analytical processes (e.g. sample pretreatment, solution distribution/mixing, separation, detection, etc.) on a microchip platform. So far, most of lab-on-chip research is focused on electrophoretic separations, and relatively much less work is carried out on multi-process integration. One of the main reasons for limited process integration is the lack of a robust and miniaturized pump that is readily integrated with lab-on-chip devices. Microchip HPLC is envisioned to play an important role in point-of-care (POC) measurements and Chemical and Biological Warfare Agent (CBWA) detections. It can be highly parallelized to increase sample throughput (e.g. for drug compound screening), which will have great impact on drug screening and biomarker discovery. Microchip HPLC combined with mass spectrometer could accelerate the proteomic research and reduce its cost considerably. A major challenge toward microchip HPLC is the lack of a robust and miniaturized high-pressure pump that is integrateable with lab-on-chip devices. In availability of reliable on-chip sample injection valves is another obstacle toward these applications. We propose to develop a cascade open-channel EO pump and an on-chip sample injection valve to address these issues. The cascade pump will consist of alternately-arranged "+" and "-" pumps. This pump will be able to generate flow rates of up to 5L/min and pressures of up to 1000 psi for microchip HPLC applications. We will develop a bubbleless electrode to solve the electric connection problems. The electrode will be capable of applying high voltages onto EO pumps while preventing pump solutions from leaking out. In addition, it will minimize the pump solution composition change and eliminate bubble formation due to electrolysis. We will also develop an on-chip sample injection valve for microchip HPLC separations. The valve will have an injection volume ranging from sub-nL to 5L, and the injected volume will be reproducible. All these function-different components will be integrateable with lab-on-chip devices. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: We will develop a microchip platform that integrates a cascade open-channel EO pump, an on-chip sample injection valve, a monolith separation column and an on-chip detection scheme to perform HPLC. The cascade pump will consist of alternately-arranged "+" and "-" pumps to generate flow rates of up to 1 5L/min and pressures of up to 1000 psi for microchip HPLC applications. We will develop a bubbleless electrode capable of applying high voltages onto EO pumps while preventing pump solutions from leaking out, and eliminating bubble formation due to electrolysis.