Improvements in Mixing Time and Mixing Uniformity in Devices Designed for Studies of Protein Folding Kinetics

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• 作者：Shuhuai Yao ; Olgica Bakajin
• 刊名：Analytical Chemistry
• 出版年：2007
• 出版时间：August 1, 2007
• 年：2007
• 卷：79
• 期：15
• 页码：5753 - 5759
• 全文大小：487K
• 年卷期：v.79,no.15(August 1, 2007)
• ISSN：1520-6882

文摘

Using a microfluidic laminar flow mixer designed forstudies of protein folding kinetics, we demonstrate amixing time of 1 ± 1 s with sample consumption on theorder of femtomoles. We recognize two limitations ofpreviously proposed designs: (1) size and shape of themixing region, which limits mixing uniformity and (2) theformation of Dean vortices at high flow rates, which limitsthe mixing time. We address these limitations by using anarrow shape-optimized nozzle and by reducing the bendof the side channel streamlines. The final design, whichcombines both of these features, achieves the best performance. We quantified the mixing performance of thedifferent designs by numerical simulation of coupledNavier-Stokes and convection-diffusion equations andexperiments using fluorescence resonance energy-transfer(FRET)-labeled DNA.