The exploration of our solar system to characterize the molecular organic inventory will enable the identification of potentially habitable regions and initiate the search for biosignatures of extraterrestrial life. However, it is challenging to perform the required high-resolution, high-sensitivity chemical analyses in space and in planetary environments. To address this challenge, we have developed a microfluidic organic analyzer (MOA) instrument that consists of a multilayer programmable microfluidic analyzer (PMA) for fluidic processing at the microliter scale coupled with a microfabricated glass capillary electrophoresis (CE) wafer for separation and analysis of the sample components. Organic analytes are labeled with a functional group-specific (e.g. amine, organic acid, aldehyde) fluorescent dye, separated according to charge and hydrodynamic size by capillary electrophoresis (CE), and detected with picomolar limit of detection (LOD) using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). Our goal is a sensitive automated instrument and autonomous process that enables sample-in to data-out performance in a flight capable format. We present here the design, fabrication, and operation of a technology development unit (TDU) that meets these design goals with a core mass of 3 kg and a volume of <5 L. MOA has a demonstrated resolution of 2 × 10⁵ theoretical plates for relevant amino acids using a 15 cm long CE channel and 467 V cm⁻¹. The LOD of LIF surpasses 100 pM (0.01 ppb), enabling biosignature detection in harsh environments on Earth. MOA is ideally suited for probing biosignatures in potentially habitable destinations on icy moons such as Europa and Enceladus, and on Mars.

中文翻译：

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用于行星和太空探索的集成高性能微流控有机分析仪器

通过探索太阳系来表征分子有机库存，将能够识别潜在的宜居区域，并开始寻找外星生命的生物特征。然而，在太空和行星环境中进行所需的高分辨率、高灵敏度化学分析具有挑战性。为了应对这一挑战，我们开发了一种微流控有机分析仪 (MOA) 仪器，该仪器由用于微升级流体处理的多层可编程微流控分析仪 (PMA) 和用于分离和分析有机物的微加工玻璃毛细管电泳 (CE) 晶片组成。样本组件。有机分析物用特定官能团（例如胺、有机酸、醛）荧光染料标记，通过毛细管电泳 (CE) 根据电荷和流体动力学大小进行分离，并使用激光诱导的皮摩尔检测限 (LOD) 进行检测荧光（LIF）。我们的目标是一种灵敏的自动化仪器和自主流程，能够以可飞行的格式实现样本输入到数据输出的性能。我们在此介绍技术开发单元 (TDU) 的设计、制造和操作，该技术开发单元满足这些设计目标，核心质量为 3 kg，体积 <5 L。MOA 的分辨率为 2 × 10 ⁵理论板使用15 cm长的CE通道和467 V cm ^-1检测相关氨基酸。 LIF 的 LOD 超过 100 pM (0.01 ppb)，能够在地球上的恶劣环境中进行生物特征检测。 MOA 非常适合探测木卫二、土卫二等冰冷卫星以及火星上潜在宜居目的地的生物特征。