Combining preparative mass spectrometry and digital microfluidics for microspace chemical reaction discovery

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Detlev Belder; Professor Dr. Jonas Warneke
• Subject Area: Analytical Chemistry ; Physical Chemistry of Molecules, Liquids and Interfaces, Biophysical Chemistry
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 558291315

The proposed project will carry out fundamental research in the field of automated chemical synthesis and analysis at the microscale. Digital microfluidics will be exploited as one of the key technologies for future microsynthesis machines, as it enables the automatic and parallel processing of chemicals in droplets on a 2D surface through programmed electrical control. To study chemical species that are inaccessible using conventional approaches, the Warneke and Belder groups are combining their expertise in micropreparative mass spectrometry with lab-on-a-chip technology. Reactive ions are isolated in a special (soft-landing) mass spectrometer setup and landed on a digital microfluidic chessboard-like chip surface. This unique MS-chip-MS approach enables the study of chemical reactions at the picolitre scale, using reagents that were previously accessible only as molecules in a mass spectrum. Chemical transformations are then carried out automatically at the microscale to gain new insights into the inner workings of chemical processes at the heart of modern synthetic research.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants