How electrospray potentials can disrupt droplet microfluidics and how to prevent this

Abstract

A pressure-resistant microfluidic glass chip that integrates a packed-bed HPLC column, a droplet generator and a monolithic electrospray emitter is presented. This approach enables a seamless coupling of chip-HPLC and droplet microfluidics with ESI-MS detection. For the electrical contacting of the emitter, an electrode was integrated into the channel, which reaches up to the emitter tip. The incidental finding that under certain circumstances, the electrospray potential can strongly disturb the droplet microfluidics by electrowetting, was investigated in detail. Strategies to avoid this are evaluated and include electrical shielding and/or chip layouts, where the droplet generator is positioned at a long distance from the emitter.