DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.eimc.2021.007
Publication date: 5th July 2021
Fossils are preserved remains of life in the past. Through dating methods, fossils can be arranged chronologically, crucial in reconstructing evolutionary history and understanding responses to environmental changes that can aid modern conservation efforts and addressing climate change [1]. Amino acid racemization (AAR) allows direct dating of calcium carbonate-based biominerals (e.g. bone and teeth) over quaternary timescales (~2.5 million years), beyond the limits of radiocarbon dating (~50, 000 years) [2]. AAR as a dating technique measures the D and L ratio of intra-crystalline amino acids trapped within fossil samples, which has not been exposed to the external chemical environment. However, current AAR methodology relies on specialist laboratory equipment, relatively large samples sizes and lengthy processing times [3]. By exploiting the advantages of miniaturization, we aim to develop an integrated microfluidic device that allows on-site preparative and analytical processes for AAR dating. Here, we demonstrate the development of a microfluidic device for the first phase of AAR which involves sample preparation to isolate the intracrystalline amino acids trapped within mammoth tooth enamel. Using a microfluidic device, sample size was reduced from ~30 mg to 1 mg and oxidative treatment time was improved by ~97%. Result showed that reduction of the first phase of AAR to a microscale did not significantly affect the yield and composition of the extracted intracrystalline amino acids, especially the four key amino acids (Asx, Glx, Ala and Phe) and showed good agreement to the corresponding macroscale conventional method. This has the potential for both carrying out sample treatment on site, outside specialist labs, and as an opportunity to use a less destructive sampling procedure of precious fossil samples.
This project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NE/S010211/1). The authors would also like to thanks Dr. Alex Iles for manufacture of the microfluidic devices, as well as Adrian Lister and Jim Rose for providing the samples used in this study.
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