We developed a lab-on-a-chip system integrating miniaturized micro-optic SAF arrays within microfluidic chambers for high sensitivity and multiplexed detection of fluorescent molecules.

Ultrasonic welding is a rapid, promising bonding method for the bonding of polymer chips; yet its use is still limited. We present two lab-on-a-chip applications where ultrasonic welding can be preferably applied: (1) self-aligned gapless bonding of a two-part chip with a tolerance of 50 μm; (2) bonding of a large area shallow chamber (1.8 cm(2) × 150 μm). Using injection moulding combined with ultrasonic welding we achieved a total production and bonding time of 60 s per chip, and a batch of chips could be produced within a day going from design to finished chips. We believe that the technical solutions offered here can significantly help bridge the gap between academia and industry, where the differences in production methods and materials pose a challenge when transferring technology.

The determination of pharmacokinetic properties of drugs, such as the distribution coefficient (D) is a crucial measurement in pharmaceutical research. Surprisingly, the conventional (gold standard) technique used for D measurements, the shake-flask method, is antiquated and unsuitable for the testing of valuable and scarce drug candidates. Herein, we present a simple microfluidic platform for the determination of distribution coefficients using droplet-based liquid−liquid extraction. For simplicity, this platform makes use of gravity to enable phase separation for analysis and is 48 times faster and uses 99% less reagents than performing an equivalent measurement using the shake-flask method. Furthermore, the D measurements achieved in our platform are in good agreement with literature values measured using traditional shake-flask techniques. Since D is affected by volume ratios, we use the apparent acid dissociation constant, pK′, as a proxy for intersystem comparison. Our platform determines a pK′ value of 7.24 ± 0.15, compared to 7.25 ± 0.58 for the shake-flask method in our hands and 7.21 for the shake-flask method in the literature. Devices are fabricated using injection molding, the batchwise fabrication time is <2 min per device

Rapid prototyping is desirable when developing products. One example of such a product is all-polymer, passive flow controlled lab-on-a-chip systems that are preferential when developing low-cost disposable chips for point-of-care use. In this paper we investigate the following aspects of going from rapid prototyping to pilot (mass) production. (1) Fabrication of an all-polymer microfluidic system using a rapid prototyped master insert for injection moulding and ultrasonic welding, including a systematic experimental characterisation of chip featured geometric capillary microvalve test structures. (2) Numerical modelling of the microvalve burst pressures. Numerical modelling of burst pressures is challenging due to its non-equilibrium nature. We have implemented and tested the level-set method modified with a damped driving term and show that the introduction of the damping term leads to numerically robust results with limited computational demands and a low number of iterations. Numerical and simplified analytical results are validated against the experimental results. We find that injection moulding and ultrasonic welding are effective for chip production and that the experimental burst pressures could be estimated with an average accuracy of 5% using the presented numerical model.

We present a new type of energy director (ED) for ultrasonic welding of microfluidic systems. These micropillar EDs are based on the replication of cone like protrusion structures introduced using a pico-second laser and may therefore be added to any mould surface accessible to a pico-second laser beam. The technology is demonstrated on an injection moulded microfluidic device featuring high-aspect ratio (h  ×  w  =  2000 μm  ×  550 μm) and free-standing channel walls, where bonding is achieved with no detectable channel deformation. The bonding strength is similar to conventional EDs and the fabricated system can withstand pressures of over 9.5 bar.