A microfluidic chip based liquid–liquid extraction system with microporous membrane Original Research Article

A robust and simple approach for microfabricated chip based liquid–liquid extraction was developed for on-chip sample pretreatment. The chip based extraction system was composed of two microfabricated glass plates with a microporous membrane sandwiched in between. A simple bonding approach using epoxy was used to achieve bonding and sealing of the L–L extraction chip. Gravity was employed to drive the aqueous and organic flows through separate channels in the extraction system, separated by the membrane. During extraction, the analyte in an aqueous sample stream was transferred through the membrane into the organic stream. The fluorescence intensity of the analyte extracted into the organic stream was monitored in situ by a laser induced fluorescence detection system. The performance of the system was demonstrated using an aqueous solution of butyl rhodamine B (BRB) and isobutanol as sample and extractant, respectively. The system proved to be an efficient means for achieving chip based microporous membrane liquid–liquid extraction. The precision of fluorescence measurements was 1.5% R.S.D. (n = 4). A linear response range of 1 × 10−7 to 1 × 10−4 M BRB was obtained with a regression equation: I = 8.00 × 106 C + 4.91. An enrichment factor of ca. 3 was obtained with an extraction efficiency of 69%.