MICROMACHINED ELECTRICAL FIELD-FLOW FRACTIONATION SYSTEM

摘要

A micromachined system for electrical field-flow fractionation of small test fluid samples is provided. The system includes a microchannel device (12) comprising a first substrate (14) having a planar inner surface with an electrode (21) formed thereon. A second substrate (16) having a planar inner surface with an electrode (22) formed thereon is positioned over the first substrate so that the respective electrodes face each other. An insulating intermediate layer (18) is interposed between the first and second substrates. The intermediate layer is patterned to form opposing sidewalls of at least one microchannel, with the electrodes on the substrates defining opposing continuous boundaries along the length of the microchannel. Inlet and outlet ports (24, 26) are formed in one or both substrates for allowing fluid flow into and out of the microchannel. The microdevice can be fabricated with single or multiple microchannels.