SOI-based nanoelectrospray emitter tips for mass spectrometry: a coupled MEMS and microfluidic design

We present here micromachined nanoelectrospray emitter tips based on a microfluidic capillary slot fabricated using silicon-on-insulator ( SOI) technology. We couple microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and microfluidic design rules to ensure the rigidity of the structures by taking into account the effect of capillary forces generated by the introduction of liquids into MEMS. The SOI-based microtechnology fabrication process uses four simple steps: photolithography, dry etching, wet etching and dicing. This optimized fabrication process enables cost-effective batch production of chip-based micromachined nanoelectrospray emitter tips. The characteristics of these nanoelectrospray emitter tips were investigated using mass spectrometry. We have detected the protein lysozyme at a concentration as low as 100 fmol mu L-1; our results indicate that micromachined electrospray emitter tips are useful in biomolecular analysis.