Low-Temperature Microchip Nonaqueous Capillary Electrophoresis of Aliphatic Primary Amines: Applications to Titan Chemistry

We demonstrate microchip nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (mu NACE) analysis of primary aliphatic amines (C1-C18) in ethanol down to -20 degrees C as a first step in adapting microfluidic protocols for in situ analysis on Titan. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a nonaqueous separation at 20 degrees C on-chip. Limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 1.0 nM to 2.6 nM, and we identified several primary amines ranging in length from C2 to C16 in Titan aerosol analogue (tholin) samples; new amines were also detected in a tholin sample exposed to oxygen and liquid water. This preliminary work validates the sensitivity and efficacy of microfluidic chemical analysis of complex organics with relevance to Titan aerosols and surface deposits.