Chopper-modulated gas chromatography electroantennography enabled using high-temperature MEMS flow control device

We report the design,fabrication and characterization of a microelectromechanical systems(MEMS)flow control device for gas chromatography(GC)with the capability of sustaining high-temperature environments.We further demonstrate the use of this new device in a novel MEMS chopper-modulated gas chromatography-electroantennography(MEMS-GC-EAG)system to identify specific volatile organic compounds(VOCs)at extremely low concentrations.The device integrates four pneumatically actuated microvalves constructed via thermocompression bonding of the polyimide membrane between two glass substrates with microstructures.The overall size of the device is 32 mm×32 mm,and it is packaged in a 50 mm×50 mm aluminum housing that provides access to the fluidic connections and allows thermal control.The characterization reveals that each microvalve in the flow control chip provides an ON to OFF ratio as high as 1000:1.The device can operate reliably for more than 1 million switching cycles at a working temperature of 300℃.Using the MEMS-GC-EAG system,we demonstrate the successful detection of cis-11-hexadecenal with a concentration as low as 1 pg at a demodulation frequency of 2 Hz by using an antenna harvested from the male Helicoverpa Virescens moth.In addition,1μg of a green leafy volatile(GLV)is barely detected using the conventional GC-EAG,while MEMS-GC-EAG can readily detect the same amount of GLV,with an improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)of~22 times.We expect that the flow control device presented in this report will allow researchers to explore new applications and make new discoveries in entomology and other fields that require high-temperature flow control at the microscale.

Electrophysiological responses of the rice striped stem borer Chilo suppressalis to volatiles of the trap plant vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides L.)

Vetiver grass （Vetiveria zizanioides L.） was previously found to effectively attract female adults of Chilo suppressalis （Walker）, an important pest of rice. To determine the volatile compounds involved in this attraction, electroantennography （EAG） responses to seven synthetic volatiles released from vetiver plants were examined. Our results indicated that the responses of C. suppressalis adult antennae to the different compounds varied widely. The compounds elicited strong EAG responses in female antennae were subsequently selected for further EAG response tests, namely, caryophyllene, β-ocimene, linalool and a-pinene. EAG responses to a combination of these four compounds did not differ significantly from the individual compounds. However, pair combination tests indicated that 0.01μg μL-1linalool and 50 μg μL-1 α-pinene, 50 μgμL-1 caryophyllene and 0.01μg μL-1 linalool, 0.01 μg μL-1 13-ocimene and 0.01 μg μL-1 linalool, and 0.01μg μL-1 β-ocimene and 50 μg μL-1 caryophyllene elicited significantly greater EAG responses in 3-day female moths compared to the 1-day female. These compound combinations and the corresponding ratios are probably playing an important role in attracting female adults of C. suppressalis to the vetiver grass.