Ampholyte based isoelectric focusing (IEF) simulation was conducted to study dispersion of proteins in a horseshoe microchannel. Four model proteins (pls = 6.49, 7.1, 7.93 and 8.6) are focused in a 1 cm long horseshoe channel under an electric field of 300 V/cm. The pH gradient is formed in the presence of 25 biprotic carrier ampholytes (ΔpK = 3.0) within a pH range of 6 to 9. The proteins are focused at 380 sec in a nominal electric field of 300 V/cm. Our numerical results show that the band dispersions of a protein are large during the marching stage, but the dispersions are significantly reduced when the double peaks start to merge. This rearrangement of spreading band is very unique compared to linear electrokinetic phenomena (capillary electrophoresis, zone electrophoresis or electroosmosis) and is independent of channel position and channel shape. Hence, one can perform IEF in complex geometries without incorporating hyperturns.
On-chip protein isoelectric focusing using a photo-immobilized pH gradient