Plastic microchip electrophoresis for analysis of PCR products of hepatitis C virus.

BACKGROUND Electrophoresis on polymeric rather than glass microstructures is a promising separation method for analytical chemistry. Assays on such devices need to be explored to allow assessment of their utility for the clinical laboratory. METHODS We compared capillary and plastic microchip electrophoresis for clinical post-PCR analysis of hepatitis C virus (HCV). For capillary electrophoresis (CE), we used a separation medium composed of 10 g/L hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose in Tris-borate-EDTA buffer and 10 micromol/L intercalating dye. For microchip electrophoresis, the HCV assay established on the fused silica tubing was transferred to the untreated polymethylmethacrylate microchip with minimum modifications. RESULTS CE resolved the 145-bp amplicon of HCV in 15 min. The confidence interval of the migration time was <3.2%. The same HCV amplicon was resolved by microchip electrophoresis in <1.5 min with the confidence interval of the migration time <1.3%. CONCLUSION The polymer microchip, with advantages that include fast processing time, simple operation, and disposable use, holds great potential for clinical analysis.