Issue 7, 2024

Development of an automated platform for monitoring microfluidic reactors through multi-reactor integration and online (chip-)LC/MS-detection

Abstract

This work presents a novel microfluidic screening setup with real-time analytics for investigating reactions with immobilised biocatalysts. The setup combines microreactor technology, multi-reactor integration, and online (chip-)LC/MS analysis in a sequential automated workflow. We utilized in-house manufactured fused-silica glass chips as reusable packed-bed microreactors interconnected as individual tube reactors. The potential of this setup was showcased by conducting and optimising a biocatalytic aromatic bromination reaction as the first proof of concept using immobilised vanadium-dependent haloperoxidase from Curvularia inaequalis (CiVHPO). The fusion of a HaloTag™ to CiVHPO was used for efficient and mild covalent linkage of the enzyme onto chloroalkane-functionalized particles. Then, the biotransformation was continuously monitored with automated LC/MS data acquisition in a data-rich manner. By further developing the automation principle, it was possible to sequentially screen multiple different connected packed-bed microreactors for reaction optimization while using only miniature amounts of reactants and biocatalyst. Finally, we present a fast and modular chipHPLC solution for online analysis to reduce the overall solvent consumption by over 80%. We established a modern microfluidic platform for real-time reaction monitoring and evaluation of biocatalytic reactions through automation of the reactant feed integration, flexible microreactor selection, and online LC/MS analysis.

Graphical abstract: Development of an automated platform for monitoring microfluidic reactors through multi-reactor integration and online (chip-)LC/MS-detection

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Jan 2024
Accepted
20 Mar 2024
First published
20 Mar 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

React. Chem. Eng., 2024,9, 1739-1750

Development of an automated platform for monitoring microfluidic reactors through multi-reactor integration and online (chip-)LC/MS-detection

H. Westphal, S. Schmidt, S. Lama, M. Polack, C. Weise, T. Oestereich, R. Warias, T. Gulder and D. Belder, React. Chem. Eng., 2024, 9, 1739 DOI: 10.1039/D4RE00004H

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