2018 Volume 39 Issue 3 Pages 125-130
Herein, we report a method for the simultaneous derivatization and concentration of aspartic acid using an acidic polyacrylamide gel, fabricated in the microfluidic channel of a commercial poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microchip. This approach is based on a simple photochemical copolymerization for the fabrication of the anionic polyacrylamide gel. The intersection of the PMMA microchip was filled with a solution containing acrylamide, N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide, 2-acrylamidoglycolic acid, and riboflavin as photoinitiator, which functioned as a photocatalytic initiator. In situ polymerization near the cross of the sample outlet channel was performed by pinpoint irradiation with an argon ion laser beam, which is also used as the light source for fluorimetric detection. The electrokinetic properties, combined with the electrostatic repulsion between both sample and reagent components with the anionic groups in the polyacrylamide gel, enable simultaneous derivatization and entrapment at the cathodic side of the gel plug.
