Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis Based Separation and Detection of Cysteine and Homocysteine

Cysteine and homocysteine are the biological thiols which have an important function in various biochemical processes in our body. Alterations in their level lead to various abnormalities. Therefore, we fabricated a miniaturized platform for capillary electrophoresis that could separate and detect these amino thiols electrochemically. The device was fabricated using conventional photolithography technique on the glass substrate. The microchannel was molded in polydimethylsiloxane with gold electrodes deposited on glass for separation and detection. Based on the amperometric detection, we could detect cysteine in 93 sec while homocysteine was detected in 111 sec.