Chen Hong, Fan Z Hugh
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Electrophoresis. 2009 Mar;30(5):758-65. doi: 10.1002/elps.200800566.
Proteomics is emerging as an important tool in modern drug discoveries and medical diagnostics. One of the techniques used in proteomics studies is 2-DE. The process of the conventional 2-DE is time-consuming and it has substandard reproducibility. Many efforts have been made to address the limitations, with an aim for fast separation and high resolution. In this paper, we reviewed the work on achieving 2-DE in microfluidic devices, including individual dimension in one channel, two dimensions in two intersected channels, and 2-D separation in a large number of channels. We also discussed the need for integrating microvalves within 2-DE devices to prevent different separation media from contaminating with each other. Although more efforts are required to match the performance of conventional 2-DE in a slab gel, microfluidics-based 2-D separation has a potential to become an alternative in the future.
蛋白质组学正在成为现代药物发现和医学诊断中的一项重要工具。蛋白质组学研究中使用的技术之一是二维电泳（2-DE）。传统二维电泳的过程耗时且重现性不佳。人们已经做出了许多努力来解决这些局限性，目标是实现快速分离和高分辨率。在本文中，我们回顾了在微流控设备中实现二维电泳的工作，包括在一个通道内实现一维分离、在两个相交通道内实现二维分离以及在大量通道内实现二维分离。我们还讨论了在二维电泳设备中集成微阀以防止不同分离介质相互污染的必要性。尽管要达到平板凝胶中传统二维电泳的性能还需要付出更多努力，但基于微流控的二维分离未来有可能成为一种替代方法。
