Fabrication of electro phoresis microchips and effects of channel surface properties

마이크로 전기영동 소자의 제작과 유로 면 특성에 따른 전기삼투 및 전기영동 효과

We investigated the influence of the properties of substrate material on the separation efficiency in microchip electrophoresis. We fabricated the various microchips and studied separation efficiency in microchannels composed of a single material such as quartz, glass, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and polymethylmetha crylate (PMMA), as well as hybrid micro channels composed of different materials. New fabrication process for glass chip was suggested and some treatment is added to improve fabrication process in other chip. Separation efficiency was compared by measuring migration times and bandwidths of EOF and analytes in each microchip. The efficiency is the function of migration time, which is affected by the electroosmotic flow (EOF), and bandwidth of an analyte. EOF is highly dependent upon the characteristics of a microchannel wall surface. Migration time was more reproducible in silica chips than that of PDMS chip and more band broadening was observed in the microchip composed of hybrid material due to non-uniformity of surface charge density at the walls of the channel.