Integrated multilayer microfluidic device with a nanoporous membrane interconnect for online coupling of solid-phase extraction to microchip electrophoresis

An integrated microfluidic device was developed for online coupling of solid-phase extraction to microchip electrophoresis (chip SPE-CE). With a nanoporous membrane sandwiched between two PDMS substrates, SPE preconcentration and electrophoretic separation can be carried out in upper and lower fluidic layers, separately and sequentially. During the SPE process, the thin membrane can act as a fluid isolator to prevent intermixing between two fluidic channels. However, when a pulse voltage is applied, the membrane becomes a gateable interconnect so that a small plug of concentrated analytes can be online injected into the lower channel for subsequent separations. This multilayer design provides a universal solution to online SPE-CE hyphenation. Both electroosmotic flow and hydrodynamic pumps have been adopted for SPE operation. SPE was performed on a 2.5 mm long microcolumn, with two weirs on both sides to retain the C₁₈-coated silica beads. Rhodamine 123 and FITC-labelled ephedrine were used to test the operational performance of the hyphenation system. High separation efficiency and thousand-fold signal enhancement were achieved.