Capillary electrophoresis micro module for inline applications (DAC.6374)

Research summary:
Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a powerful separation technique in analytical chemistry. The separation principle is based on the phenomena that ionized molecules of different mass and charge will travel with different velocities through a capillary under the influence of an electric field. So when a small sample plug is injected at one end of a capillary the molecules are separated in different zones that can be detected with optical or electrical detectors at the other end. Although CE is widely used in laboratory situations for off-line measurements it has still not found its way to in-line applications in industrial processes, not even after the recent developments of CE microchips. The major barriers to be overcome for CE microsystem integration are: fluidic interfacing between process and CE microchip, sample pretreatment (filtering, enrichment, fluorescence labeling etc.) and the high separation voltages required (1500-3000V). This project will focus on the development of a CE-Microsystem for industrial application in which a CE microchip is integrated together with the electronics required for separation and conductivity detection. Application of the so-called Moving Field Electrophoresis will help to minimize the separation channel length and relieves the high voltage (HV) requirements. However, as a trade-off this will put more stringent requirements on the channel/electrode configuration to prevent disturbance of the Electro Osmotic Flow (EOF) and so the quality of the separation. Apart from the separation device, electronics will be developed for the high voltage generation. The strong volume restrictions for this micro total analysis system (standard probes ports for bioreactors have outside diameters of respectively 12, 19 or 25 mm) put great demands on, especially, the HV-electronics and system integration.

Utilisation summary:
The bioprocess industry market is estimated at 10 Billion EUR. The tight control of these processes is often very critical in order to optimize the process efficiency or even achieve the right product. A good control requires accurate and reliable process information. Many analytical tools have been developed, however, most of them have not found their way to in-line/on-line industrial application for a variety of reasons, such as: cost, size, reliability/stability, etc. Capillary Electrophoresis is a powerful and versatile separation technique to analyze (bio)-chemical samples. However, several factors, such as the high separation voltages, pollution of the separation channel and of the detectors, strongly hamper the industrial application of CE systems. Once the obstacles for industrial applications have been eliminated it has the potential to become one of the most important control instruments for bio-process industry with a market forecast of 10's of millions of Euros. To ensure the realization of the project goals and utilization of the results this project will be performed in close cooperation with bioprocess industry, which will be well represented in the user committee.