title: Liquid lid for biochemical reactions in chip-based nanovials.
abstract: The present paper describes a new technique to suppress evaporation of solvent from very small volumes. Vials (15 nl) on a silicon microchip were filled with water, and covered with a thin, flowing film of a volatile liquid (e.g., octane). Water evaporation was greatly reduced. At 37 degrees C, no appreciable loss of water could be observed over a period of 90 min. At 95 degrees C, most of the water sample was left in the vial for more than 3 min. The applicability of the method is demonstrated by a tryptic digest, where the resulting peptide fragments were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis. In addition, a discussion of the possibilities and limitations of some alternative methods is included in the paper, as well as an outlook on future developments of the liquid lid concept.
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Litborn
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roeraade
mesh_terms: D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary; D008904:Miniaturization; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000032:analysis*; D012666:Semiconductors
chemical_list: D010446:Peptide Fragments