Abstract
Paper-based microchip electrophoresis has the potential to bring laboratory electrophoresis tests to the point of need. However, high electric potential and current values induce pH and temperature shifts, which may affect biomolecule electrophoretic mobility thus decrease test reproducibility and accuracy of paper-based microfluidic electrophoresis. We have previously developed a microchip electrophoresis system, HemeChip, which has the capability of providing low-cost, rapid, reproducible, and accurate point-of-care (POC) electrophoresis tests for hemoglobin analysis. Here, we report the methodologies we implemented for characterizing HemeChip system pH and temperature during the development process, including utilizing commercially available universal pH indicator and digital camera pH shift characterization, and infrared camera characterizing temperature shift characterization. The characterization results demonstrated that pH shifts up to 1.1 units, a pH gradient up to 0.11 units/mm, temperature shifts up to 40◦C, and a temperature gradient up to 0.5◦C/mm existed in the system. Finally, we report an acid pre-treatment of the separation media, a cellulose acetate paper, mitigated both pH and temperature shifts and provided a stable environment for reproducible HemeChip hemoglobin electrophoresis separation.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 1433 |
Journal | Micromachines |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 22 Nov 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors acknowledge the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Small Business Innovation Research Program (R44HL140739, R41HL151015), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) U54HL143541, the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center (R21TW010610), and the National Institute of Health T32 Training Grant (T32HL134622). This article?s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Keywords
- Hemoglobin separation
- Paper-based electrophoresis
- PH shifts
- Temperature shifts
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Control and Systems Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering