We investigate a technique to enable label-free detection of charged biomolecules that harnesses a simple microfluidic device design in which a closely spaced array of individually addressable electrodes is patterned along the floor of a microchannel. When a solution of biomolecules is loaded into the microchannel, the electrode array can be activated in a way that promotes electrophoretic transport and accumulation of biomolecules into localized zones of very high concentration. With proper design, it is possible to achieve a sufficient degree of compaction to induce formation of a concentrated mesophase that becomes clearly visible under white light. This phenomenon is possible because the closely spaced electrodes within the array (~ 200 um) enable electric fields to be generated that are strong enough (50–100 V/cm) to confine the biomolecules at the electrode surface by applying very low potentials (~1–2 V). In this way, the biomolecules experience multi-dimensional focusing and compaction into an ultra-concentrated layer that is only a few microns thick. Here we extend our previous DNA-based studies to proteins using egg white lysozyme as a model system. Using a 4% w/v initial concentration, we were able to collect the sample at an electrode with sufficient enrichment to make it visible under white light illumination with no modification to our current device design. The sample becomes visible in 10 – 20 s after applying the voltage, and dissipates 5 – 10 s after the voltage was switched off. We characterize this process and further show that this approach can be used as a generic label-free method to concentrate and detect small molecule analytes in portable bioanalysis systems without the use of chemical fluorophores.