Determination of partition coefficients of biomolecules in a microfluidic aqueous two phase system platform using fluorescence microscopy.

Aqueous two phase systems (ATPS) offer great potential for selective separation of a wide range of biomolecules by exploring differences in molecular solubility in each of the two immiscible phases. However, ATPS use has been limited due to the difficulty in predicting the behavior of a given biomolecule in the partition environment together with the empirical and time-consuming techniques that are used for the determination of partition and extraction parameters. In this work, a fast and novel technique based on a microfluidic platform and using fluorescence microscopy was developed to determine the partition coefficients of biomolecules in different ATPS. This method consists of using a microfluidic device with a single microchannel and three inlets. In two of the inlets, solutions containing the ATPS forming components were loaded while the third inlet was fed with the FITC tagged biomolecule of interest prepared in milli-Q water. Using fluorescence microscopy, it was possible to follow the location of the FITC-tagged biomolecule and, by simply varying the pumping rates of the solutions, to quickly test a wide variety of ATPS compositions. The ATPS system is allowed 4min for stabilization and fluorescence micrographs are used to determine the partition coefficient.The partition coefficients obtained were shown to be consistent with results from macroscale ATPS partition. This process allows for faster screening of partition coefficients using only a few microliters of material for each ATPS composition and is amenable to automation. The partitioning behavior of several biomolecules with molecular weights (MW) ranging from 5.8 to 150kDa, and isoelectric points (pI) ranging from 4.7 to 6.4 was investigated, as well as the effect of the molecular weight of the polymer ATPS component.

Determination of aqueous two phase system binodal curves using a microfluidic device.

Aqueous two phase systems (ATPS) offer great potential for selective separation of a wide range of biomolecules by exploring differences in solubility in each of the two phases. However, their use has been greatly hindered due to poor theoretical understanding of the principles behind ATPS formation and the empirical and time-consuming techniques used for the determination of optimal extraction parameters including the binodal curves. In this work, characteristic ATPS binodal curves were determined by a novel technique in which the formation of an ATPS system is measured in a microfluidic device. Two solutions containing separate ATPS solution precursors were loaded into the side inlets of a three inlet microfluidic channel while milli-Q water was loaded into the middle inlet. By varying the flow rates of the three solutions, a wide range of concentrations inside the microchannel could be rapidly tested using limited volumes. Using optical microscopy, depending on the concentrations inside the microchannel, three different states could be observed at the end of the microchannel (i) the presence of an interface; (ii) no presence of an interface; or (iii) the presence of an unstable interface. The binodal curve was calculated using the points corresponding to unstable interfaces and compared to binodal curves obtained through the standard turbidometric titration method for both PEG/salt and PEG/dextran systems.

Design of a microfluidic platform for monoclonal antibody extraction using an aqueous two-phase system.

The use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in medical treatments and in laboratory techniques has a very important impact in the battle against many diseases, namely in the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases and neural disorders. Thus these biopharmaceuticals have become increasingly important, reinforcing the demand for efficient, scalable and cost-effective techniques for providing pure antibodies. Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) have shown potential for downstream processing of mAbs. In this work, an ATPS in a microfluidic platform was designed and tested for mAbs extraction. The system demonstrated the potential to be an effective tool to accelerate bioprocess design and optimization. The partition of immunoglobulin G (IgG) tagged with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) in an ATPS of polyethylene-glycol (PEG)/phosphate buffer with NaCl was investigated using a PDMS microfluidic device fabricated using soft lithography techniques. Different structures were tested with different values of microchannel length (3.14-16.8 cm) and flow rates of the salt (1-2 µL/min) and PEG-rich phases (0.2-0.5 µL/min). A stable interphase between the phases was obtained and the phenomena of diffusion and of partition of the IgG from the salt-rich phase to the PEG-rich phase were measured by fluorescence microscopy. Process simulation allowed the modeling of the IgG diffusion and partitioning behavior observed in the microstructure. The reduction to the microscale does not greatly affect the antibody extraction yield when compared with macroscale results, but it does reduce the operation time, demonstrating the potentiality of this approach to process optimization.