Nanotechnology Laboratory, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People's Republic of China.
Anal Chem. 2010 Jun 1;82(11):4362-9. doi: 10.1021/ac902904m.
A centrifuge-based microfluidic system has been developed that enables automated high-throughput and low-volume protein crystallizations. In this system, protein solution was automatically and accurately metered and dispensed into nanoliter-sized multiple reaction chambers, and it was mixed with various types of precipitants using a combination of capillary effect and centrifugal force. It has the advantages of simple fabrication, easy operation, and extremely low waste. To demonstrate the feasibility of this system, we constructed a chip containing 24 units and used it to perform lysozyme and cyan fluorescent protein (CyPet) crystallization trials. The results demonstrate that high-quality crystals can be grown and harvested from such a nanoliter-volume microfluidic system. Compared to other microfluidic technologies for protein crystallization, this microfluidic system allows zero waste, simple structure and convenient operation, which suggests that our microfluidic disk can be applied not only to protein crystallization, but also to the miniaturization of various biochemical reactions requiring precise nanoscale control.
已开发出一种基于离心机的微流控系统，可实现自动化高通量和低体积的蛋白质结晶。在该系统中，蛋白质溶液被自动且精确地计量并分配到纳升级的多个反应室中，并使用毛细作用和离心力的组合与各种类型的沉淀剂混合。它具有制造简单、操作简便和浪费极少的优点。为了证明该系统的可行性，我们构建了一个包含 24 个单元的芯片，并使用它进行溶菌酶和青色荧光蛋白（CyPet）结晶试验。结果表明，可以从这样的纳升级微流控系统中生长和收获高质量的晶体。与其他用于蛋白质结晶的微流控技术相比，这种微流控系统允许零浪费、结构简单和操作方便，这表明我们的微流控盘不仅可以应用于蛋白质结晶，还可以应用于需要精确纳米级控制的各种生化反应的小型化。
