Rapid microchip-based electrophoretic immunoassays for the detection of swine influenza virus.

Towards developing rapid and portable diagnostics for detecting zoonotic diseases, we have developed microchip-based electrophoretic immunoassays for sensitive and rapid detection of viruses. Two types of microchip-based electrophoretic immunoassays were developed. The initial assay used open channel electrophoresis and laser-induced fluorescence detection with a labeled antibody to detect influenza virus. However, this assay did not have adequate sensitivity to detect viruses at relevant concentrations for diagnostic applications. Hence, a novel assay was developed that allows simultaneous concentration and detection of viruses using a microfluidic chip with an integrated nanoporous membrane. The size-exclusion properties of the in situ polymerized polyacrylamide membrane are exploited to simultaneously concentrate viral particles and separate the virus/fluorescent antibody complex from the unbound antibody. The assay is performed in two simple steps--addition of fluorescently labeled antibodies to the sample, followed by concentration of antibody-virus complexes on a porous membrane. Excess antibodies are removed by electrophoresis through the membrane and the complex is then detected downstream of the membrane. This new assay detected inactivated swine influenza virus at a concentration four times lower than that of the open-channel electrophoresis assay. The total assay time, including device regeneration, is six minutes and requires <50 microl of sample. The filtration effect of the polymer membrane eliminates the need for washing, commonly required with surface-based immunoassays, increasing the speed of the assay. This assay is intended to form the core of a portable device for the diagnosis of high-consequence animal pathogens such as foot-and-mouth disease. The electrophoretic immunoassay format is rapid and simple while providing the necessary sensitivity for diagnosis of the illness state. This would allow the development of a portable, cost-effective, on-site diagnostic system for rapid screening of large populations of livestock, including sheep, pigs, cattle, and potentially birds.

Microchip HPLC of peptides and proteins.

Rapid microchip reversed-phase HPLC of peptides and proteins at pressure gradients of 12 bar/cm (180 psi/cm) has been performed using a microdevice that integrates subnanoliter on-chip injection and separation with a miniaturized fluorescence detector. Proteins and peptides were separated on a C18 side-chain porous polymer monolith defined by contact lithography, and injection was achieved via a pressure-switchable fluoropolymer valve defined using projection lithography. Preliminary separations of peptide standards and protein mixtures were performed in 40-200 s, and switching between samples with no detectible sample carryover has been performed. The injections and separations were reproducible; the relative standard deviation (RSD) for retention time was 0.03%, and peak area RSD was 3.8%. Sample volumes ranging from 220 to 800 pL could be linearly metered by controlling the pressure injection pulse duration with conventional timing and valving. The current prototype system shows the potential for rapid and autonomous HPLC separations with varying modalities and the potential for direct connection to mass spectrometers at nanospray flow rates.

Microfluidic routing of aqueous and organic flows at high pressures: fabrication and characterization of integrated polymer microvalve elements.

This paper presents the first systematic engineering study of the impact of chemical formulation and surface functionalization on the performace of free-standing microfluidic polymer elements used for high-pressure fluid control in glass microsystems. System design, chemical wet-etch processes, and laser-induced polymerization techniques are described, and parametric studies illustrate the effects of polymer formulation, glass surface modification, and geometric constraints on system performance parameters. In particular, this study shows that highly crosslinked and fluorinated polymers can overcome deficiencies in previously-reported microvalve architectures, particularly limited solvent compatibility. Substrate surface modification is shown effective in reducing the friction of the polymer-glass interface and thereby facilitating valve actuation. A microchip one-way valve constructed using this architecture shows a 2 x 10(8) ratio of forward and backward flow rates at 7 MPa. This valve architecture is integrated on chip with minimal dead volumes (70 pl), and should be applicable to systems (including chromatography and chemical synthesis devices) requiring high pressures and solvents of varying polarity.

On-chip high-pressure picoliter injector for pressure-driven flow through porous media.

A high-pressure (> 3 MPa) on-chip injector has been developed for microchip applications including HPLC. The mechanical injector is implemented using in situ photopolymerization of fluorinated acrylates inside wet-etched silica microchips. The injector allows reproducible injections as small as 180 pL with < 250 ms duration. The injector operated robustly over 60 days and over 1000 injections. The injector is unique among polymer-based valves as it functions in aqueous, acetonitrile, and mixed buffers at high pressures without detectable leakage.

Dibenzothiophene biodesulfurization pathway improvement using diagnostic GFP fusions.

The dibenzothiophene biodesulfurization pathway has shown significant potential for improving the processing of sulfur-containing fossil fuels. However, the rate of desulfurization is limited by the last enzyme in the pathway, DszB. Genetic constructs designed to produce increased DszB activity were not functional due to low production of DszB, even when using a consensus ribosome binding site. To increase DszB production, the untranslated region 5' of dszB was mutated using degenerate oligonucleotides and translational fusions with gfp to detect increased translation of dszB. After screening only 96 mutants, several showed increased green fluorescence and two showed increased DszB activity. When cotransformed with the full dszABC operon, the mutant dszB increased the rate of desulfurization ninefold relative to that using the native dszB.

Effects of ammonioalkyl sulfonate internal salts on electrokinetic micropump performance and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic separations.

Ammonioalkyl sulfonate internal salts are explored owing to their potential for improving electrokinetic pumps used to perform miniaturized HPLC separations. The internal salts investigated can be added at high molarity since they are net-neutral, and furthermore show potential for increasing electroosmotic pumping owing to their large positive dielectric increment. Streaming potential measurements of buffered aqueous systems with varying concentrations of ammonioalkyl sulfonate internal salts have been used to measure these dielectric increments, which increase with the length of the alkyl linker. Due to their positive dielectric increments and their decremental effect on solution conductivity, all of the measured species are predicted to improve the pressure generation (up to 85%) and efficiency performance (up to 140%) of electrokinetic pumps when added at 1 M concentration. RP-HPLC separations with an ammonioalkyl sulfonate (TMAPS) have been performed and indicate that separation performance is essentially unaffected by these species. These results indicate the potential for a variety of ammonioalkyl sulfonates to be used to improve electrokinetic pump performance for miniaturized HPLC.