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Complete experimental and theoretical characterization of nonlinear concentration gradient generator microfluidic device for analytical purposes

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Abstract

Microfluidic devices that generate stable concentration gradients are efficient instruments for automated calibration for analytical and bioanalytical systems. However, little attention has been paid to the development of reusable microfluidic concentration gradient generators, which can be useful for a range of species through mathematical characterization. In this work, we develop a microfluidic device based on three steps of serial dilution that were able to generate nonlinear concentration gradient for dyes and biomolecules. The microfluidic device was described mathematically, statistically and was suitable for reusable analytical and bioanalytical analysis. The device reproducibility was assessed by experimental tests, which have shown the same gradient concentration profile for different dyes and statistical reproducibility with 95% confidence interval for bovine serum albumin (BSA). Moreover, the experimental data converged well with those  obtained by computational fluid dynamics simulation. Applicability was verified by coupling the microfluidic device to a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor, based on nanohole arrays with sensitivity of 358.7 nm RIU−1 determined by white-light SPR excitation exposed to different D-(+)-glucose aqueous solutions with 1.3361–1.4035 refractive index interval. The transmission light intensities obtained by the array of images allowed to quantify a pseudo-unknown BSA sample (160 µg mL−1) at 138 µg mL−1. The SPR analysis has been validated in parallel by fluorescence emissions, which showed a concentration of 154.8 ± 16.6 µg mL−1.

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Availability of data and material

The data that support the findings of this study are available with the corresponding author, Emerson Marcelo Girotto, upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was also supported by CNPq (Brazil) through Inomat-INCT, National Institute for Complex Functional Materials (CNPq 573644/2008-0) and by Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES).

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Author notes

  1. Paulo Henrique Maciel Buzzetti

    Present address: DCM, CNRS, UMR 5250, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, F-38000, Grenoble, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Chemistry and Sensors Laboratories (LMSEN), Department of Chemistry, State University of Maringá, Colombo 5790, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil

    Paulo Henrique Maciel Buzzetti, Maiara Mitiko Taniguchi, Nayara de Souza Mendes, Jean Halison de Oliveira, Bento Pereira Cabral Júnior & Emerson Marcelo Girotto

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, State University of Maringá, Colombo 5790, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil

    Renata Corrêa Vicentino & Marcos de Souza

  3. Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Technologic - Paraná, Marcílio Dias 635, Apucarana, PR, 86812-460, Brazil

    Johny Paulo Monteiro

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  1. Paulo Henrique Maciel Buzzetti
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Paulo Henrique Maciel Buzzetti, Maiara Mitiko Taniguchi, Bento Pereira Cabral Júnior, Jean Halison de Oliveira, and Johny Paulo Monteiro; data curation: Paulo Henrique Maciel Buzzetti, Nayara Pereira Mendes, Maiara Mitiko Taniguchi, and Bento Pereira Cabral Júnior; formal analysis: Paulo Henrique Maciel Buzzetti, Maiara Mitiko Taniguchi, Renata Corrêa Vicentino, and Jean Halison de Oliveira; investigation: Paulo Henrique Maciel Buzzetti, Maiara Mitiko Taniguchi, Bento Pereira Cabral Júnior, and Johny Paulo Monteiro; validation: Paulo Henrique Maciel Buzzetti and Johny Paulo Monteiro; writing original draft preparation: Paulo Henrique Maciel Buzzetti, Maiara Mitiko Taniguchi, and Renata Corrêa Vicentino; writing review and editing: Marcos de Souza, Johny Paulo Monteiro, and Emerson Marcelo Girotto; visualization: Paulo Henrique Maciel Buzzetti and Maiara Mitiko Taniguchi; supervision: Marcos de Souza, Johny Paulo Monteiro, and Emerson Marcelo Girotto; project administration: Johny Paulo Monteiro and Emerson Marcelo Girotto; funding acquisition: Marcos de Souza and Emerson Marcelo Girotto.

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Correspondence to Emerson Marcelo Girotto.

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Buzzetti, P.H.M., Taniguchi, M.M., de Souza Mendes, N. et al. Complete experimental and theoretical characterization of nonlinear concentration gradient generator microfluidic device for analytical purposes. Microchim Acta 189, 11 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-021-05110-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-021-05110-7

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