Fully Automated Microchip Electrophoresis Analyzer for Potential Life Detection Missions

Abstract

There are a variety of complementary observations that could be used in the search for life in extraterrestrial settings. At the molecular scale, patterns in the distribution of organics could provide powerful evidence of a biotic component. In order to observe these molecular biosignatures during spaceflight missions, it is necessary to perform separation science in situ. Microchip electrophoresis (ME) is ideally suited for this task. Although this technique is readily miniaturized and numerous instruments have been developed over the last 3 decades, to date, all lack the automation capabilities needed for future missions of exploration. We have developed a portable, automated, batterypowered, and remotely operated ME instrument coupled to laserinduced fluorescence detection. This system contains all the necessary hardware and software interfaces for end-to-end functionality. Here, we report the first application of the system for amino acid analysis coupled to an extraction unit in order to demonstrate automated sample-to-data operation. The system was remotely operated aboard a rover during a simulated Mars mission in the Atacama Desert, Chile. This is the first demonstration of a fully automated ME analysis of soil samples relevant to planetary exploration. This validation is a critical milestone in the advancement of this technology for future implementation on a spaceflight mission.

MBLDP-R: A Multiple Biomolecules Based Rapid Life Detection Protocol Embedded in a Rover Scientific Subsystem for Soil Sample Analysis

“…al. 6 created a Microchip Electrophoresis Laser-Induced Fluorescence (ME-LIF) instrument to receive a liquid sample of soil and analysed it in an automated module. This was a foundational development of microchip electrophoresis instruments for potential life-detection missions.…”

“…Moreover, biomolecules are important components to test for the presence of life 2 . Studies [3][4][5][6] have revealed the efficiency of a single type of biomolecule such as protein, nucleic acid etc. as the detection method for biosignature.…”

Space Biology Research and Biosensor Technologies: Past, Present, and Future

“…MICA builds upon the Wet Chemistry Laboratory flown on the Phoenix Mars mission and employs an electrochemistry sensor array to quantitatively measure key chemical properties of Europa's surface materials and provide sample context in the search for evidence of potential biosignatures [42]. Other fluidics-based life detection instruments currently under development include Spain's Centro de Astrobiología's CMOLD (Complex Molecules Detector) and SOLID-LDChip (Signs of Life Detector-Life Detector Chip), JPL's Chemical Laptop, and UC Berkeley's EOA (Enceladus Organic Analyzer) [43][44][45][46].…”

Digital soil science and beyond

“…Past missions on Mars have already relied on inferred measurements, using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, and new sensors will soon be deployed. For example, an automated microchip electrophoresis analyzer mounted on a rover could detect organic biosignatures in extraterrestrial soils (Mora et al, 2020). In the far future, humans might populate some new planetary and obtain access to physical soil material, but there will always be new planetary systems to explore, so that understanding of extraterrestrial soils will always be at the limit of what the digital enables.…”