Work

Spray-Capillary: An Electrospray-Assisted Device for Quantitative Ultralow-Volume Sample Handling

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: The analysis of low-volume samples provides valuable insight into complex biological systems. However, the proteomic and metabolomic analysis of low-volume samples remains challenging due to the lack of simple, efficient, and reproducible microsampling techniques. We have developed an electrospray-assisted device for quantitative low-volume sample extraction, referred to here as "Spray-Capillary". Stable electrospray was achieved through a chemically etched tip from a long (e.g., 50 cm) capillary with a conductive sheath flow. This electrospray provided the driving force to quantitatively draw low-volume samples into the capillary. We evaluated the precision and accuracy of sample injection volumes using our spray-capillary as the electrospray voltage, capillary ID, and column length were varied. Our results demonstrate that spray-capillary allows for reproducible and quantitative microsampling with low injection flow rates (as low as 15 pL/s). Furthermore, spray-capillary can be directly coupled with capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) for separation. Overall, spray-capillary is a simple microsampling device that holds great potential for high-throughput quantitative omics analysis of ultralow-volume samples.

Source: Analytical Chemistry

DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b04131

Authors: Lushuang Huang, Zhe Wang, Kellye A. Cupp-Sutton, Kenneth Smith, Si Wu

Institutions: University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Language: English

Topic: Microfluidic and Capillary Electrophoresis Applications

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green