Microfluidic enzymatic reactors

Kr enkova, J. and Foret, F. (2004). Immobilized microfluidic enzymatic reactors. Electrophoresis 25 3550-3563. 

Another application of microfluidic enzymatic reactors is in the enormous and diverse challenges of proteomic investigations. Enzymatic microreactors present proteomics with a valuable analytical tool for protein analysis. Most of applications of IMERs are currently directed at protein analysis by protein digestion and peptide mapping. 

To fulfill such requirements, attempts have been made in the past decade by researchers working on peptide mapping and proteomics through development of immobilized microfluidic enzymatic reactors. Microfluidic enzymatic microreactors are an alternative to in-solution method employing immobilization of proteases on microchaimels of chip-based reactors or surfaces of capillaries. The microreactors that enable proteolytic digestion by enzymes immobilized on solid supports are also referred to as immobilized enzyme reactors, IMERs. The great potential of IMERS for proteomic applications comprise rapid and enhance... 

Enzymatic bioreactor Immobilized enzyme biosensor Immobilized enzyme reactor Immobilized microfluidic enzyme reactor (IMER) Membrane reactor... 

MicroChannel Enzyme Reactor. Enzymatic conversion is receiving attention because it is an environmentally friendly approach to synthesizing chemicals. Reactions can be carried out enzymatically in the solution phase or by immobilizing enzymes on microfluidic walls. The use of the latter type of reaction has the same mass and heat transfer advantages as the use of a microfluidic synthetic reactor. More information can be found in a published review article [6] and in the article microfluidic bioreactors in this encyclopedia. 

Xu, Z.R., Fang, Z.L., Composite poly(dimethylsiloxane)/glass microfluidic system with an immobilized enzymatic particle-bed reactor and sequential sample injection for chemiluminescence determinations. Anal. Chim. Acta 2004, 507,129-135. 

Gottschlich et al. [134] developed a microfluidic system that integrated enzymatic reactions, electrophoretic separation of the reactants from the products, and postseparation labeling of the proteins and peptides prior to fluorescence detection (see Fig. 12). Tryptic digestion of oxidized insulin p-chain was performed in 15 min under stopped flow conditions in a heated channel serving as the reactor, and the separation was completed in 60 s. Localized thermal control of the reaction channel was achieved using a resistive heating element. The separated reaction products were then labeled with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde (NDA) and detected by fluorescence detection. 

Microfluidic bioreactors are a variety of devices that can be made by immobilizing a variety of biologically active substrates within a microfluidic device [1]. The ability to create a variety of biologically important devices is critical to enabling the true total analytical system. The variety of devices that can be made in this way ranges from immobilized enzyme reactors to enzymatic biosensors, immunoassys, and affinity chromatographic stationary phases. In order to form a microfluic bioreactor it is necessary to immobilize the active molecule within the device either directly onto the channel or onto a solid support within the channel such as a bead or a monolith. 

Table 10.3 Enzymatic transformations in microfluidic reactors in solution phase.

Most recently, a modular microfluidic reactor and in-line filtration system for the rapid and small-scale evaluation of biocatalytic reactions have been demonstrated by O Sullivan and others [153]. The system combined a substrate with a biocatalyst in free solution. The PMMA enzymatic microreactor worked by co-flowing the enzyme and substrate through a T-channel and mixing was achieved by staggered herringbone micromixer (SHM). The filtration unit composed of gaskets made of PDMS... 

Many advantages have been reported with the use of microfluidic reactors in biocatalytic reactions. These advantages can potentially enable the rapid evaluation of different reaction conditions, overcoming the time constraints associated with biocatalytic process development. Biocatalysis by enzymatic microreactors have been widely reported. Enzymatic microreactors are classified based on their applications such as microreactors for enzymatic diagnosis and genetic analysis, for enzyme-linked immunoassays, and for analysis of proteins. Microreactors for genetic analysis have been widely exploited, while integration of microfluidics... 

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