Isotachophoresis of proteins in a networked microfluidic chip: Experiment and 2-D simulation

✍ Scribed by Huanchun Cui; Prashanta Dutta; Cornelius F. Ivory

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 441 KB
• Volume: 28
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0173-0835
• DOI: 10.1002/elps.200600525

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

This paper reports both the experimental application and 2‐D simulation of ITP of proteins in a networked microfluidic chip. Experiments demonstrate that a mixture of three fluorescent proteins can be concentrated and stacked into adjacent zones of pure protein under a constant voltage of 100 V over a 2 cm long microchannel. Measurements of the isotachophoretic velocity of the moving zones demonstrates that, during ITP under a constant voltage, the zone velocity decreases as more of the channel is occupied by the terminating electrolyte. A 2‐D ITP model based on the Nernst–Planck equations illustrates the stacking and separation features of ITP using simulations of three virtual proteins. The self‐sharpening behavior of ITP zones dispersed by a T‐junction is clearly demonstrated both by experiment and by simulation. Comparison of 2‐D simulations of ITP and zone electrophoresis (ZE) confirms that ZE lacks the ability to resharpen protein zones after they pass through a T‐junction.