Prototypical Nonelectrochemical Method for Surface Regeneration of an Integrated Electrode in a PDMS Microfluidic Chip

Abstract

A prototypical method for surface regeneration of an integrated electrode in a microfluidic chip is demonstrated. A platinum wire as working electrode was mounted in a polydimethylsiloxane chip vertical to the chip through the channel. The regeneration of the electrode was easily achieved by drawing the platinum wire out for 5 mm, because the area exposed to the channel or the stream would be altered. With continuous motion, the wire electrode can maintain a fresh surface just like a dropping mercury electrode. The current–time curve and open circuit potential (OCP) of dopamine solution show the performance of this prototypical system.

Keywords:

• Dopamine
• electrochemistry detection
• microfluidic chip
• PDMS
• surface regeneration

This research was supported by funding from the National Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China (2007CB714505) and the Ministry of Education of China (No. 20080031012).