| abstract |
A chemical device (eg for reactions or analyses) comprises two members 10,14 (eg of glass) joined by providing a coating 34 of material which is heatable by microwaves (eg Cr metal or a vaporizable organic material) and heating the material by microwaves to cause the members to join by thermal bonding. A space is formed between the members by grooves 18,20 in one member and/or by the thickness of the coating material. Apertures 40,42,44 communicate with the space. One groove (18) may be filled with a porous silica layer (36, Fig 2) and a liquid reagent may be drawn into this from aperture 42 using positive or negative pressure. A second reagent applied to aperture 40 is caused to move by electro-osmosis through the porous region by applying an electric potential, the reaction product being collected at 44. A standard solution may be prepared by placing a porous solid solute in one channel and passing a solvent through this solid at a controlled rate to produce a required concentration of solution. |