Fabrication of a versatile microanalytical system without need for clean room conditions

In this paper, we address the problem of designing microanalytical systems that are easily interfaced to the general laboratory environment (macro world) and that do not require any special facilities such as clean rooms for their fabrication. The separation chip is realised in glass, the channels in particular by sawing with a 70 mum resinoid blade. While this restricts us to the fabrication of straight channels, it is much faster and less complex than any other method used at present for channel production in microfluidic chips. In view of a future application in pressure or voltage driven nano-chromatography, a monolithic stationary phase was synthesised in the separation channel of the chip. A multifunctional connection and support unit containing optical probes, reservoirs, as well as high pressure and high voltage connectors, constituted the interface to the macro world. Depending on the procedure used to bond the upper and the lower part of the microfluidic chip (adhesion forces or high temperature bonding) chips inserted in the unit could withstand upper pressure limits of 130 and 150 bar, respectively without leakage or disintegration. The system was then characterised in terms of its fluid dynamics under pressure and voltage driven conditions and its functionality was demonstrated in a preliminary experiment. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.