David S. Reichmuth

Increasing the performance of high-pressure, high-efficiency electrokinetic micropumps using zwitterionic solute additives

A zwitterionic additive is used to improve the performance of electrokinetic micropumps (EK pumps), which use voltage applied across a porous matrix to generate electroosmotic pressure and flow in microfluidic systems. Modeling of EK pump systems predicts that the additive, trimethylammoniopropane sulfonate (TMAPS), will result in up to a 3.3-fold increase in pumping efficiency and up to a 2.5-fold increase in the generated pressure. These predictive relations compare well with experimental results for flow, pressure and efficiency. With these improvements, pressures up to 156 kPa/V (22 psi/V) and efficiency up to 5.6% are demonstrated. Similar improvements can be expected from a wide range of zwitterionic species that exhibit large dipole moments and positive linear dielectric increments. These improvements lead to a reduction in voltage and power requirements and will facilitate miniaturization of micro-total-analysis systems (μTAS) and microfluidically driven actuators.

Analysis of Metabolic Pathways and Fluxes in a Newly Discovered Thermophilic and Ethanol-Tolerant Geobacillus Strain

A recently discovered thermophilic bacterium, Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius M10EXG, ferments a range of C5 (e.g., xylose) and C6 sugars (e.g., glucose) and is tolerant to high ethanol concentrations (10%, v/v). We have investigated the central metabolism of this bacterium using both in vitro enzyme assays and 13C‐based flux analysis to provide insights into the physiological properties of this extremophile and explore its metabolism for bio‐ethanol or other bioprocess applications. Our findings show that glucose metabolism in G. thermoglucosidasius M10EXG proceeds via glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, and the TCA cycle; the Entner–Doudoroff pathway and transhydrogenase activity were not detected. Anaplerotic reactions (including the glyoxylate shunt, pyruvate carboxylase, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase) were active, but fluxes through those pathways could not be accurately determined using amino acid labeling. When growth conditions were switched from aerobic to micro‐aerobic conditions, fluxes (based on a normalized glucose uptake rate of 100 units (g DCW)−1 h−1) through the TCA cycle and oxidative pentose phosphate pathway were reduced from 64 ± 3 to 25 ± 2 and from 30 ± 2 to 19 ± 2, respectively. The carbon flux under micro‐aerobic growth was directed to ethanol, L‐lactate (>99% optical purity), acetate, and formate. Under fully anerobic conditions, G. thermoglucosidasius M10EXG used a mixed acid fermentation process and exhibited a maximum ethanol yield of 0.38 ± 0.07 mol mol−1 glucose. In silico flux balance modeling demonstrates that lactate and acetate production from G. thermoglucosidasius M10EXG reduces the maximum ethanol yield by approximately threefold, thus indicating that both pathways should be modified to maximize ethanol production. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009;102: 1377–1386.

Rapid Microchip-Based Electrophoretic Immunoassays For The Detection Of Swine Influenza Virus.

Towards developing rapid and portable diagnostics for detecting zoonotic diseases, we have developed microchip-based electrophoretic immunoassays for sensitive and rapid detection of viruses. Two types of microchip-based electrophoretic immunoassays were developed. The initial assay used open channel electrophoresis and laser-induced fluorescence detection with a labeled antibody to detect influenza virus. However, this assay did not have adequate sensitivity to detect viruses at relevant concentrations for diagnostic applications. Hence, a novel assay was developed that allows simultaneous concentration and detection of viruses using a microfluidic chip with an integrated nanoporous membrane. The size-exclusion properties of the in situ polymerized polyacrylamide membrane are exploited to simultaneously concentrate viral particles and separate the virus/fluorescent antibody complex from the unbound antibody. The assay is performed in two simple steps--addition of fluorescently labeled antibodies to the sample, followed by concentration of antibody-virus complexes on a porous membrane. Excess antibodies are removed by electrophoresis through the membrane and the complex is then detected downstream of the membrane. This new assay detected inactivated swine influenza virus at a concentration four times lower than that of the open-channel electrophoresis assay. The total assay time, including device regeneration, is six minutes and requires <50 microl of sample. The filtration effect of the polymer membrane eliminates the need for washing, commonly required with surface-based immunoassays, increasing the speed of the assay. This assay is intended to form the core of a portable device for the diagnosis of high-consequence animal pathogens such as foot-and-mouth disease. The electrophoretic immunoassay format is rapid and simple while providing the necessary sensitivity for diagnosis of the illness state. This would allow the development of a portable, cost-effective, on-site diagnostic system for rapid screening of large populations of livestock, including sheep, pigs, cattle, and potentially birds.

Microfluidic routing of aqueous and organic flows at high pressures: fabrication and characterization of integrated polymer microvalve elements

This paper presents the first systematic engineering study of the impact of chemical formulation and surface functionalization on the performace of free-standing microfluidic polymer elements used for high-pressure fluid control in glass microsystems. System design, chemical wet-etch processes, and laser-induced polymerization techniques are described, and parametric studies illustrate the effects of polymer formulation, glass surface modification, and geometric constraints on system performance parameters. In particular, this study shows that highly crosslinked and fluorinated polymers can overcome deficiencies in previously-reported microvalve architectures, particularly limited solvent compatibility. Substrate surface modification is shown effective in reducing the friction of the polymer-glass interface and thereby facilitating valve actuation. A microchip one-way valve constructed using this architecture shows a 2 x 10(8) ratio of forward and backward flow rates at 7 MPa. This valve architecture is integrated on chip with minimal dead volumes (70 pl), and should be applicable to systems (including chromatography and chemical synthesis devices) requiring high pressures and solvents of varying polarity.

Effects of ammonioalkyl sulfonate internal salts on electrokinetic micropump performance and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic separations

Ammonioalkyl sulfonate internal salts are explored owing to their potential for improving electrokinetic pumps used to perform miniaturized HPLC separations. The internal salts investigated can be added at high molarity since they are net-neutral, and furthermore show potential for increasing electroosmotic pumping owing to their large positive dielectric increment. Streaming potential measurements of buffered aqueous systems with varying concentrations of ammonioalkyl sulfonate internal salts have been used to measure these dielectric increments, which increase with the length of the alkyl linker. Due to their positive dielectric increments and their decremental effect on solution conductivity, all of the measured species are predicted to improve the pressure generation (up to 85%) and efficiency performance (up to 140%) of electrokinetic pumps when added at 1 M concentration. RP-HPLC separations with an ammonioalkyl sulfonate (TMAPS) have been performed and indicate that separation performance is essentially unaffected by these species. These results indicate the potential for a variety of ammonioalkyl sulfonates to be used to improve electrokinetic pump performance for miniaturized HPLC.