Peak Compression and Resolution for Electrophoretic Separations in Diverging Microchannels

Published

November 1, 2004

Author(s)

David J. Ross, C F. Ivory, Laurie E. Locascio, K E. Van Cott

Abstract

We report the results of experiments and simulations on electrokinetic flow in diverging microchannels (with cross sectional area that increases with distance along the channel). Because of conservation of mass and charge, the velocity of an analyte in the channel decreases as the channel cross-section increases. Consequently, the leading edge of a band of sample moves more slowly than the trailing edge, and the sample band is compressed. Sample peak widths, rather than increasing diffusively with time, can then be controlled by the geometry of the channel and can even be made to decrease with time. We consider the possibility of using this peak compression effect to improve the resolution of electrophoretic separations. Our results indicate that for typical separations that are not injection limited, this peak compression effect is more than offset by the decreased distance between peaks, and the separation resolution in diverging channels is always worse than that found for straight channels at the same applied voltage. For separations in very short channels or at very high field strengths, however, when the separation efficiency is injection limited, the peak compression effect is dominant and diverging channels can then be used to achieve improved separation resolution.

Citation

Electrophoresis

Volume

25

Issue

No. 21-22

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

capillary, electrophoresis, microfluidics

Citation

Ross, D. , Ivory, C. , Locascio, L. and Van, K. (2004), Peak Compression and Resolution for Electrophoretic Separations in Diverging Microchannels, Electrophoresis (Accessed November 8, 2024)