In situ electrochemical
detection of an analyte in a microchannel is of primary importance
for
real
miniaturization
of ”μTAS” or ”lab-on-chip system”. In
the present study we have developed fabrication methods of
microchannel
chip integrated with microelectrodes and a new methodology
for thermal lens microspectroscopy (TLM) by using a microchannel
- microelectrodes chip. A microchannel and microelectrodes
fabricated on a microchip provide various advantages, such
as short diffusion distance, low ohmic drops, and small time
constants. However the electrochemical detection in the microchannel
is basically low sensitive due to the small sample volume
and electrode area. Here, we propose TLM detection for electrochemical
reaction in the microchannel. TLM is a powerful tool for
ultrasensitive
detection of non-fluorescent species and high spatial resolution
measurement of small sample volume. Characteristics of electrochemical
redox reaction in the microchannel were demonstrated by cyclic
voltammetry and chronoamperometry under solution flow conditions
with TLM detection, which was at least a hundred times more
sensitive than conventional electrochemical detection. Our
proposed method of TLM by using a microchannel - microelectrodes
chip can be an effective detection for microchip chemistry. |