Carbohydrate analysis on hybrid poly(dimethylsiloxane)/glass chips dynamically coated with ionic complementary peptide

- A novel dynamic coating using self-assembling peptide EAK16-II was developed.
- A rapid carbohydrate analysis was achieved on a hybrid PDMS/glass microfluidic chip.
- The work provides a powerful tool to suppress EOF and adsorption in microfluidic chips.

A facile and efficient dynamic coating method using an ionic complementary peptide was established for high-performance separation of 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (APTS)-labeled carbohydrates in a hybrid poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)/glass microfluidic channel. EAK16-II with a sequence of [(Ala-Glu-Ala-Glu-Ala-Lys-Ala-Lys)2] can readily self-organize into a complete coating layer tightly adsorbed on both hydrophobic PDMS and hydrophilic glass surfaces, which efficiently suppressed nonspecific analyte adsorption and minimized electroosmotic flow (EOF). Separation conditions were systematically investigated with respect to EAK16-II concentration, running buffer, buffer pH, and field strength (Esep). Under the optimal conditions, rapid and reproducible separations of maltodextrin ladder, glycans from glucosamine capsules, tablets, and pomegranate peel extracts were achieved with over 450000 theoretical plates per meter in the hybrid PDMS/glass microchannels dynamically coated with 1.0 mg/mL EAK16-II-0.05% n-dodecyl β-d-maltoside (DDM), and the relative standard deviation (RSD) values were less than 3.2% (n = 4) for the migration times. The present work provides a facile and efficient means to minimize EOF and nonspecific analyte adsorption in microfluidic chips fabricated in various substrates, thereby broadening the applications of microfluidic chips in complicated biological assays.