An automated Teflon microfluidic peptide synthesizer

Abstract

We present a microfluidic synthesizer made entirely of Teflon material for solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). Solvent-resistant perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) was used to construct chip-sized devices featuring multiple tri-layer pneumatic microvalves. Using these devices, model peptides were automatically synthesized and cleaved in situ in a continuous-flow manner. The total coupling and cleavage time was significantly reduced compared to conventional bulk reactors. The synthesis of a decapeptide, for instance, took less than 6 h using our device while it usually takes more than three days using conventional reactors.