Microchip Separations in Reduced-Gravity and Hypergravity Environments

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• 作者：Christopher T. Culbertson ; Yogesh Tugnawat ; Amanda R. Meyer ; Gregory T. Roman ; J. Michael Ramsey ; and Steve R. Gonda
• 刊名：Analytical Chemistry
• 出版年：2005
• 出版时间：December 15, 2005
• 年：2005
• 卷：77
• 期：24
• 页码：7933 - 7940
• 全文大小：966K
• 年卷期：v.77,no.24(December 15, 2005)
• ISSN：1520-6882

文摘

Microfabricated fluidics technology, e.g., lab-on-a-chipdevices, offers many attractive features for performingchemistry and biochemistry on space-based platforms. Wehave constructed a portable, battery-operated microfluidicplatform that was tested under reduced gravity andhypergravity conditions that would be experienced inspace flight and launch. This device consisted of amicrochip, microchip holder, two 0-8-kV high-voltagepower supplies, a high-voltage switch, a solid-state diode-pumped green laser, an optical train, a channel photomultiplier, and an inertial mass measurement unit allunder the control of a laptop computer and powered by10 D-cell alkaline batteries. The unit was tested onNASA's reduced gravity research aircraft at gravity levelsthat are relevant to NASA's intended use of bioreporter-based microchips for environmental monitoring of spaceand planetary environments on manned and unmannedspacecraft. Over the course of two flights, 834 fastelectrophoretic separations of four amino acids wereperformed under a variety of gravitational environmentsincluding zero-g, Martian-g, lunar-g, and ~1.8-g. Allseparations were performed in less than 12 s and automatically analyzed. After correction with an internalmigration standard, the migration time reproducibilitieswere all <1% relative standard deviation.