Synthesis and Crystallization of Metal Complexes Containing Proteins in Microfluidic Devices Dedicated for Both Liquid and Solid

In this study, we successfully synthesized and crystallized metal complexes and functional proteins in a simple microfluidic device. The fabricated microfluidic device is dedicated to liquid and solid syntheses, including crystallization. A feature of this device is that the lid of the outlet synthesis chamber can be attached and removed. In the case of solid products such as protein crystals, removing the lid of the outlet portion and easily removing the solid products from the synthesis chamber is possible. Furthermore, partition walls were provided in the reaction (crystallization) chamber at 100 to 300 <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mu \mathrm{m}$</tex> intervals. The partition contributes to efficiently mixing the reaction solution and optimizing the crystallization conditions. Applying this device shortened the synthesis of metal complexes (liquid) from 6 hours to 10 seconds. Furthermore, we succeeded in synthesizing, crystallizing, and extracting Zn(II) complex proteins, which are difficult to synthesize.