Microchip capillary electrophoresis coupled with a boron-doped diamond electrode-based electrochemical detector

The attractive behavior and advantages of a diamond electrode detector for a micromachined capillary electrophoresis (CE) system are discussed. A chemically vapor-deposited boron-doped diamond (BDD) film band (0.3 x 6.0 mm) electrode is used for end-column amperometric detection. The favorable performance of the diamond electrode microchip detector is indicated from comparison to a commonly used thick-film carbon detector. The diamond electrode offers enhanced sensitivity, lower noise levels, and sharper peaks for several groups of important analytes (nitroaromatic explosives, organophosphate nerve agents, phenols). The favorable signal-to-background characteristics of the BDD-based CE detector are coupled with a greatly improved resistance to surface fouling and greater isolation from high separation voltages. The enhanced stability is indicated from a RSD of 0.8% for 60 repetitive measurements of 5 ppm 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (vs RSD of 10.8% at the thick-film carbon electrode). A highly linear response is obtained for the explosives 1,3-dinitrobenzene and 2,4-dinitrotoluene over the 200-1400 ppb range, with detection limits of 70 and 110 ppb, respectively. Factors influencing the performance of the BDD detector are assessed and optimized. The attractive properties of BDD make it very promising material for electrochemical detection in CE microchip systems and other micromachined flow analyzers.