At-line bioprocess monitoring by immunoassay with rotationally controlled serial siphoning and integrated supercritical angle fluorescence optics.

In this paper we report a centrifugal microfluidic "lab-on-a-disc" system for at-line monitoring of human immunoglobulin G (hIgG) in a typical bioprocess environment. The novelty of this device is the combination of a heterogeneous sandwich immunoassay on a serial siphon-enabled microfluidic disc with automated sequential reagent delivery and surface-confined supercritical angle fluorescence (SAF)-based detection. The device, which is compact, easy-to-use and inexpensive, enables rapid detection of hIgG from a bioprocess sample.

Simple approach to study biomolecule adsorption in polymeric microfluidic channels.

Herein a simple analytical method is presented for the characterization of biomolecule adsorption on cyclo olefin polymer (COP, trade name: Zeonor(®)) substrates which are widely used in microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices. These Zeonor(®) substrates do not possess native functional groups for specific reactions with biomolecules. Therefore, depending on the application, such substrates must be functionalized by surface chemistry methods to either enhance or suppress biomolecular adsorption.

Multi-layered plasma-polymerized chips for SPR-based detection.

The surface functionalization of a noble metal is crucial in a surface plasmon resonance-based biomolecular detection system because the interfacial coating must retain the activity of immobilized biomolecules while enhancing the optimal loading. We present here a one-step, room-temperature, high-speed, gas-phase plasma polymerization process for functionalizing gold substrates using siloxane as an adhesion layer and acrylic acid as a functional layer. Siloxane- and thiol-based coatings were compared for their performance as adhesion and the interfacial layer for subsequent functionalization.