We've updated our Privacy Policy to make it clearer how we use your personal data. We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. You can read our Cookie Policy here.

Advertisement

New Miniaturized Device for Lab-on-a-Chip Separations

Listen with
Speechify
0:00
Register for free to listen to this article
Thank you. Listen to this article using the player above.

Want to listen to this article for FREE?

Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.

Read time: Less than a minute

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed an elegantly simple, miniaturized technique for separating minute samples of proteins, amino acids and other chemical mixtures.

A prototype device can run up to eight separations simultaneously in a space about the size of a quarter, highlighting the technique's potential for use in microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems.

The NIST technique, "gradient elution moving boundary electrophoresis" (GEMBE), works by opposing the movement of the mixture's components with a stream of buffering solution flowing at a variable rate.

GEMBE is suited for use in microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices. Components are selected by buffer flow-rate rather than distance, so the channel can be very short--less than a centimeter in NIST prototypes.

The technique has been validated at NIST with separations ranging from small dye molecules and amino acids to larger biomolecules, such as DNA. A prototype eight-channel GEMBE device built at NIST can produce a complete immunoassay calibration curve for insulin in a single run. NIST is applying for a patent on the method.