Electrophoretic concentration of proteins at laser-patterned nanoporous membranes in microchips

Laser-patterning of nanoporous membranes at the junction of a cross channel in a microchip is used to integrate protein concentration with an electrokinetic injection scheme. Upon application of voltage, linear electrophoretic concentration of charged proteins is achieved at the membrane surface because buffer ions can easily pass through the membrane while proteins larger than the molecular weight cutoff of the membrane (> 5700) are retained. Simple buffer systems can be used, and the concentration results constitute outward evidence that the uniformity of buffer ion concentration is maintained throughout the process. Local and spatially averaged concentration are increased by 4 and 2 orders of magnitude, respectively, upon injection with moderate voltages (70-150 V) and concentration times (100 s). The degree of concentration is limited only by the solubility limit of the proteins. The porous polymer membrane can be used repeatedly as long as care is taken to avoid protein precipitation.