Separation of DNA in a versatile microchip

In this research, reproducible detection of fluorescently labelled DNA fragments is reported. Separation was carried out on a new microchip device composed of an array of 40 parallel microchannels (length 63 mm, width 300 μm, depth 500 μm). A comparison between coated and uncoated chips is presented, demonstrating the importance of surface coating in microchip devices for DNA separation. After a 6 min run, 10 DNA fragments were clearly observed in the coated chip with excellent reproducibility for intra-channel separation in the array of parallel capillaries. On the other hand, the efficiency of DNA separation in an uncoated microchip was adversely affected by band broadening and irreproducibility band position between channels.