Patent ID: 7723123

Claim:
A method for detecting one or more component of interest in a microfluidic system, the method comprising the steps of: (i) flowing a mixture of components, which mixture of components comprises the one or more component of interest, through a binding channel region, which binding channel region comprises a component-binding moiety and which is upstream from a separation channel region, thereby binding at least a portion of the one or more component of interest to the component-binding moiety; (ii) flowing a remainder of the mixture of components through the separation channel region, resulting in one or more separated components, and detecting the one or more separated components; (iii) releasing the one or more component of interest from the component-binding moiety, resulting in one or more released component of interest; and, (iv) flowing the one or more released component of interest through the separation channel region and detecting the one or more released component of interest.