Patent ID: 6960286

Claim:
A method of injecting a sample plug into an electrolyte channel in a microfluidics device, comprising the steps of: placing a sample having a composition of sample components in a sample channel that intersects the electrolyte channel at a supply port, injecting the sample from the sample channel along a pathway by applying an electric field across the sample channel and a drain channel that intersects the electrolyte channel at a drain port axially spaced from the supply port to form the sample plug in the electrolyte channel, said pathway comprising the supply port, the drain port and a segment of the electrolyte channel between the two ports, the sample plug having said composition of sample components, and electrokinetically moving the sample plug along the electrolyte channel by applying an electric field across a reservoir for an electrolyte buffer at one end of the electrolyte channel and a drain at an opposite end of the electrolyte channel from the reservoir.