Functional integration of serial dilution and capillary electrophoresis on a PDMS microchip

For the quantitative analysis of an unknown sample a calibration curve should be obtained, as analytical instruments give relative, rather than absolute measurements. Therefore, researchers should make standard samples with various known concentrations, measure each standard and the unknown sample, and then determine the concentration of the unknown by comparing the measured value to those of the standards. These procedures are tedious and time-consuming. Therefore, we developed a polymer based microfluidic device from polydimethylsiloxane, which integrates serial dilution and capillary electrophoresis functions in a single device. The integrated microchip can provide a one-step analytical tool, and thus replace the complex experimental procedures. Two plastic syringes, one containing a buffer solution and the other a standard solution, were connected to two inlet holes on a microchip, and pushed by a hydrodynamic force. The standard sample is serially diluted to various concentrations through the microfluidic networks. The diluted samples are sequentially introduced through microchannels by electro-osmotic force, and their laser-induced fluorescence signals measured by capillary electrophoresis. We demonstrate the integrated microchip performance by measuring the fluorescence signals of fluorescein at various concentrations. The calibration curve obtained from the electropherograms showed the expected linearity.