Categories of exhibits
HPLC-Chip for nanoESI-MS
Exhibit no. 389
Nanoelectrospray ion sources run at very low flow rates. Sometimes it is difficult to make sure that the LC is connected properly and the system delivers maximum performance. Leaks and blockages are hard to detect in a maze of tubing and fittings. To eliminate the traditional fittings, a microfluidic chip with an integrated HPLC column and electrospray emitter can be used.
The exhibit is a reusable microfluidic chip developed by Agilent. It is a 3-dimensional structure made of sandwiched polyimide films. Grooves of specific dimensions are laser-ablated into a layer of the film. The lamination of a top and bottom layer then forms channels of trapezoidal or triangular shape inside the chip. Some of the channels are used as capillaries, while the others are filled with packing material and used as nanocolumns. One end of the chip tapers off into a polyimide nanoelectrospray emitter. The chip has small holes in the top and bottom layers for connecting a microvalve in the chip interface. The interface (called Chip Cube) precisely positioned the chip spray tip orthogonal to the MS inlet and made the necessary electrical connections and all hydraulic connections to the chip. The exhibit is a chip for proteomics with high loading capacity. It integrates 150 mm x 75 μm C18 separation column (Zorbax 300SB-C18, 5-μm particles) and 9-mm enrichment column packed with the same material. The chip was introduced in 2005.
