{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]],"date-time":"2025-12-09T08:25:57Z","timestamp":1765268757204,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,29]],"date-time":"2021-04-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1619654400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100011039","name":"Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["FA8650-17-C-9105"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FA8650-17-C-9105"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100011039","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Gas chromatography is widely used to identify and quantify volatile organic compounds for applications ranging from environmental monitoring to homeland security. We investigate a new architecture for microfabricated gas chromatography systems that can significantly improve the range, speed, and efficiency of such systems. By using a cellular approach, it performs a partial separation of analytes even as the sampling is being performed. The subsequent separation step is then rapidly performed within each cell. The cells, each of which contains a preconcentrator and separation column, are arranged in progression of retentiveness. While accommodating a wide range of analytes, this progressive cellular architecture (PCA) also provides a pathway to improving energy efficiency and lifetime by reducing the need for heating the separation columns. As a proof of concept, a three-cell subsystem (PCA3mv) has been built; it incorporates a number of microfabricated components, including preconcentrators, separation columns, valves, connectors, and a carrier gas filter. The preconcentrator and separation column of each cell are monolithically implemented as a single chip that has a footprint of 1.8 \u00d7 5.2 cm2. This subsystem also incorporates two manifold arrays of microfabricated valves, each of which has a footprint of 1.3 \u00d7 1.4 cm2. Operated together with a commercial flame ionization detector, the subsystem has been tested against polar and nonpolar analytes (including alkanes, alcohols, aromatics, and phosphonate esters) over a molecular weight range of 32\u2013212 g\/mol and a vapor pressure range of 0.005\u2013231 mmHg. The separations require an average column temperature of 63\u201368 \u00b0C within a duration of 12 min, and provide separation resolutions &gt;2 for any two homologues that differ by one methyl group.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s21093089","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,29]],"date-time":"2021-04-29T01:43:24Z","timestamp":1619660604000},"page":"3089","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Progressive Cellular Architecture in Microscale Gas Chromatography for Broad Chemical Analyses"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Weilin","family":"Liao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSensing and Systems (WIMS2), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"},{"name":"Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3525-9747","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiangyu","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSensing and Systems (WIMS2), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"},{"name":"Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6145-6771","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hsueh-Tsung","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSensing and Systems (WIMS2), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"},{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"}]},{"given":"Tsenguun","family":"Byambadorj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSensing and Systems (WIMS2), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"},{"name":"Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4589-4485","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yutao","family":"Qin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSensing and Systems (WIMS2), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"},{"name":"Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2281-3937","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yogesh B.","family":"Gianchandani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSensing and Systems (WIMS2), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"},{"name":"Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"},{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Carle, G.C., Donaldson, R.W., Terry, S.C., and Wise, K.D. (1972). Microminiature gas chromatograph. NASA Tech Briefs, Ames Research Center."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1880","DOI":"10.1109\/T-ED.1979.19791","article-title":"A gas chromatographic air analyzer fabricated on a silicon wafer","volume":"26","author":"Terry","year":"1979","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Electron Devices"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1123","DOI":"10.1039\/b508596a","article-title":"First-generation hybrid MEMS gas chromatograph","volume":"15","author":"Lu","year":"2005","journal-title":"Lab Chip"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1371","DOI":"10.1109\/JMEMS.2006.879708","article-title":"High-speed MEMS-based gas chromatography","volume":"15","author":"Agah","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Microelectromech. Syst."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kim, H., Steinecker, W.H., Reidy, S., Lambertus, G.R., Astle, A.A., Najafi, K., Zellers, E.T., Bernal, L.P., Washabaugh, P.D., and Wise, K.D. (2007, January 10\u201314). A micropump-driven high-speed MEMS gas chromatography system. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conf. Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems (Transducers), Lyons, France.","DOI":"10.1109\/SENSOR.2007.4300430"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"322","DOI":"10.1016\/j.snb.2009.06.021","article-title":"Real-time monitoring of sub-ppb concentrations of aromatic volatiles with a MEMS-enabled miniaturized gas-chromatograph","volume":"141","author":"Zampolli","year":"2009","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators B Chem."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"145","DOI":"10.1016\/j.snb.2014.12.136","article-title":"Zebra GC: A mini gas chromatography system for trace-level determination of hazardous air pollutants","volume":"212","author":"Garg","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators B Chem."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"655","DOI":"10.1021\/ac402961t","article-title":"Microfabricated gas chromatograph for rapid, trace-level determinations of gas-phase explosive marker compounds","volume":"86","author":"Collins","year":"2014","journal-title":"Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1748","DOI":"10.1109\/JSEN.2013.2239472","article-title":"A wireless hybrid chemical sensor for detection of environmental volatile organic compounds","volume":"13","author":"Chen","year":"2013","journal-title":"IEEE Sens. J."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"259","DOI":"10.1109\/JSSC.2015.2489839","article-title":"A portable micro gas chromatography system for lung cancer associated volatile organic compound detection","volume":"51","author":"Tzeng","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE J. Solid State Circuits"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49416","DOI":"10.1039\/C6RA09131H","article-title":"A fully automated portable gas chromatography system for sensitive and rapid quantification of volatile organic compounds in water","volume":"6","author":"Zhou","year":"2016","journal-title":"RSC Adv."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17101","DOI":"10.1038\/micronano.2017.101","article-title":"Compact prototype microfabricated gas chromatographic analyzer for autonomous determinations of VOC mixtures at typical workplace concentrations","volume":"4","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Microsyst. Nanoeng."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"065011","DOI":"10.1088\/0960-1317\/24\/6\/065011","article-title":"iGC2: An architecture for micro gas chromatographs utilizing integrated bi-directional pumps and multi-stage preconcentrators","volume":"24","author":"Qin","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Micromech. Microeng."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"784","DOI":"10.1109\/JSEN.2006.874495","article-title":"Recent advances in the gas-phase MicroChemLab","volume":"6","author":"Lewis","year":"2006","journal-title":"IEEE Sens. J."},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"83731O-1","article-title":"A programmable palm-size gas analyzer for use in micro-autonomous systems","volume":"8373","author":"Gordenker","year":"2012","journal-title":"Proc. SPIE"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4747","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.analchem.9b00263","article-title":"Belt-mounted micro-gas chromatograph prototype for determining personal exposures to volatile-organic-compound mixture components","volume":"91","author":"Wang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15049","DOI":"10.1038\/micronano.2015.49","article-title":"A fully electronic microfabricated gas chromatograph with complementary capacitive detectors for indoor pollutants","volume":"2","author":"Qin","year":"2016","journal-title":"Microsyst. Nanoeng."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127444","DOI":"10.1016\/j.snb.2019.127444","article-title":"Compact-GC platform: A flexible system integration strategy for a completely microsystems-based gas chromatograph","volume":"305","author":"Zampolli","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators B Chem."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chroma.2008.01.002","article-title":"Recent developments in the application of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography","volume":"1186","author":"Adahchour","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Chromatogr. A"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"182","DOI":"10.1016\/j.snb.2018.11.156","article-title":"Rapid and sensitive detection of formaldehyde using portable w-dimensional gas chromatography equipped with photoionization detectors","volume":"283","author":"Zhu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators B Chem."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6871","DOI":"10.1021\/ac401152v","article-title":"Smart three-dimensional gas chromatography","volume":"85","author":"Chen","year":"2013","journal-title":"Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"261","DOI":"10.1039\/C5AN01570G","article-title":"Polymer-coated micro-optofluidic ring resonator detector for a comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatographic microsystem: \u00b5GC x \u00b5GC\u2014\u00b5OFRR","volume":"141","author":"Collins","year":"2016","journal-title":"Analyst"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1333","DOI":"10.1039\/c2lc41179b","article-title":"A multidimensional micro gas chromatograph employing a parallel separation multi-column chip and stop-flow \u00b5GC x \u00b5GCs configuration","volume":"13","author":"Chen","year":"2013","journal-title":"Lab Chip"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10266","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.analchem.6b03000","article-title":"Fully automated portable comprehensive 2-dimensional gas chromatography device","volume":"20","author":"Lee","year":"2016","journal-title":"Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"818","DOI":"10.1039\/c2lc41159h","article-title":"Smart multi-channel two-dimensional micro-gas chromatography for rapid workplace hazardous volatile organic compounds measurement","volume":"13","author":"Liu","year":"2013","journal-title":"Lab Chip"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6973","DOI":"10.1021\/ac300924b","article-title":"Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatographic separations with a microfabricated thermal modulator","volume":"84","author":"Serrano","year":"2012","journal-title":"Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1007\/s00542-006-0210-3","article-title":"Fabrication of micro-gas chromatograph columns for fast chromatography","volume":"13","author":"Bhushan","year":"2007","journal-title":"Microsyst. Technol."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"875","DOI":"10.1016\/0014-3057(78)90084-8","article-title":"The thermal degradation of polysiloxanes\u2014I","volume":"14","author":"Grassie","year":"1978","journal-title":"Eur. Polym. J."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"498","DOI":"10.1109\/JMEMS.2005.844842","article-title":"Multiple-stage microfabricated preconcentrator-focuser for micro gas chromatography system","volume":"14","author":"Tian","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Microelectomech. Syst."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1016\/S0021-9673(98)00422-1","article-title":"Continuous determination of volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere by an automated gas chromatographic system","volume":"816","author":"Yamamoto","year":"1998","journal-title":"J. Chromatogr. A"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Grob, R.L., and Barry, E.F. (2004). Modern Practice of Gas Chromatography, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.","DOI":"10.1002\/0471651141"},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"(2020, December 12). Pro EZGC\u00ae Chromatogram Modeler. Available online: https:\/\/www.restek.com\/proezgc."},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"Bergman, T.L., Lavine, A.S., Incropera, F.P., and Dewitt, D.P. (2011). Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, John Wiley & Sons, Inc."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1039","DOI":"10.1109\/JMEMS.2005.856648","article-title":"High-performance temperature-programmed microfabricated gas chromatography columns","volume":"14","author":"Agah","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Microelectromech. Syst."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"327","DOI":"10.1016\/j.trac.2008.01.016","article-title":"Microfabricated chemical preconcentrators for gas-phase microanalytical detection systems","volume":"27","author":"Voiculescu","year":"2008","journal-title":"Trends. Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"379","DOI":"10.3390\/mi3020379","article-title":"A hybrid thermopneumatic and electrostatic microvalve with integrated position sensing","volume":"3","author":"Potkay","year":"2012","journal-title":"Micromachines"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"868","DOI":"10.1109\/JMEMS.2009.2021097","article-title":"A microvalve with integrated sensors and customizable normal state for low-temperature operation","volume":"18","author":"Park","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Microelectromech. Syst."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13133","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.analchem.8b01461","article-title":"Micro gas chromatography: An overview of critical components and their integration","volume":"90","author":"Regmi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"216","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chroma.2014.11.035","article-title":"Axial thermal gradients in microchip gas chromatography","volume":"1374","author":"Wang","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Chromatogr. A"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Matzke, C.M., Kottenstette, R.J., Casalnuovo, S.A., Frye-Mason, G.C., Hudson, M.L., Sasaki, D.Y., Manginell, R.P., and Wong, C.C. (1998, January 31). Microfabricated silicon gas chromatographic micro-channels: Fabrication and performance. Proceedings of the Part of the SPIE Conference on Micromachining and Microfabrication process Technology IV, Santa Clara, CA, USA.","DOI":"10.1117\/12.324309"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Morimoto, K., Qin, Y., and Gianchandani, Y.B. (2014, January 2\u20135). Modeling and characterization of the transient performance of a gas detector based on fringe-field capacitance. Proceedings of the IEEE SENSORS, Valencia, Spain.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICSENS.2014.6985386"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4376","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms5376","article-title":"Graphene nanoelectronic heterodyne sensor for rapid and sensitive vapour detection","volume":"5","author":"Kulkarni","year":"2014","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3058","DOI":"10.1039\/c0lc00071j","article-title":"Densely integrated array of chemiresistor vapor sensors with electron-beam patterned monolayer-protected gold nanoparticle interface films","volume":"10","author":"Covington","year":"2010","journal-title":"Lab Chip"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3021","DOI":"10.1039\/C5LC00328H","article-title":"Flow-through microfluidic photoionization detectors for rapid and highly sensitive vapor detection","volume":"15","author":"Zhu","year":"2015","journal-title":"Lab Chip"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1166","DOI":"10.1109\/JMEMS.2013.2255117","article-title":"Fabrication and characterization of a suspended TCD integrated with a gas separation column","volume":"22","author":"Narayanan","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Microelectromech. Syst."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sna.2018.08.027","article-title":"Stable optofluidic Fabry-P\u00e9rot resonator for liquid and gas sensing","volume":"281","author":"Meterhri","year":"2018","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators A Phys."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1606","DOI":"10.1109\/JMEMS.2015.2426699","article-title":"A monolithic high-flow Knudsen pump using vertical Al2O3 channels in SOI","volume":"24","author":"An","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Microelectromech. Syst."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lee, S., Yee, S.Y., Besharatian, A., Kim, H., Bernal, L.P., and Najafi, K. (2009, January 21\u201325). Adaptive gas pumping by controlled timing of active microvalves in peristaltic micropumps. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems (Transducers), Denver, CO, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/SENSOR.2009.5285894"},{"key":"ref_49","unstructured":"Sandoughsaz, A., Najafi, K., and Bernal, L.P. (November, January 30). A 2kPa per stage and 1.3 sccm flow rate modulator two-stage electrostatic gas micropump with stiffened drive electrodes. Proceedings of the IEEE SENSORS, Orlando, FL, USA."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lu, H.T., Qin, Y., and Gianchandani, Y.B. (2021). A monolithic electromagnetic valve with high chemical resistance integrating an embedded heater for gas chromatography systems. Sensors, 21.","DOI":"10.3390\/s21020632"},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10635","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.analchem.0c01721","article-title":"Parallel ionic liquid semi-packed microfabricated columns for complex gas analysis","volume":"92","author":"Gholizadeh","year":"2020","journal-title":"Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"431","DOI":"10.1016\/j.snb.2009.06.047","article-title":"A high resolution MEMS based gas chromatography column for analysis of benzene and toluene gaseous mixtures","volume":"141","author":"Sun","year":"2009","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators B Chem."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11192","DOI":"10.1021\/jp972724b","article-title":"Adsorption and decomposition of dimethyl methylphosphonate on metal oxides","volume":"101","author":"Mitchell","year":"1997","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. B."},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2232","DOI":"10.1021\/ac702389x","article-title":"On-column micro gas chromatography detection with capillary-based optical ring resonators","volume":"80","author":"Shopova","year":"2008","journal-title":"Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_55","unstructured":"(2020, December 14). Michell Instruments Humidity Calculator. Available online: http:\/\/www.michell.com\/us\/calculator\/."},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chroma.2005.04.096","article-title":"Adsorption of water vapour from umid air by selected carbon adsorbents","volume":"1078","author":"Fastyn","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Chromatogr. A"},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1016\/S0021-9673(01)01250-X","article-title":"Prevention of water vapour adsorption by carbon molecular sieves in sampling humid gases","volume":"933","author":"Fastyn","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. Chromatogr. A"}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/21\/9\/3089\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T05:54:57Z","timestamp":1760162097000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/21\/9\/3089"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,29]]},"references-count":57,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5]]}},"alternative-id":["s21093089"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s21093089","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"1424-8220"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,29]]}}}