A size reduction method for rapid digital PCR using thin-film chip and vacuum pouch microfluidic system

Lee, Cheng-Je; Hsu, Yu-Hsiang

doi:10.1007/s10404-021-02507-x

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…To the best of our knowledge, it is the thinnest layer in hot embossing applications. It fits well for the application of PCR amplification since it provides a short thermal conduction length from the heat source to the droplets stored in microwells [22].…”

Section: Soft Hot Embossing For Making Two-layer Patternsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…After identifying the optimal hot embossing parameters, we conducted a series study on molding a microchannel with an embedded array of microwells for the application of the digital PCR [22]. The height of the PDMS master for the microchannel was 110 µm, and the height of the microposts for microwells was 70 µm with AR = 0.875.…”

Section: Soft Hot Embossing For Making Two-layer Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To overcome the low thermal conductivity of TPs, we previously reported our concept of using a thin-film microfluidic system to construct a digital PCR chip to achieve a rapid thermal cycling process [22]. The overall thickness of the COP device was 288 µm thick, and the distance from the microwells to the chip surface was less than 50 µm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The deformability of the soft master eliminates fractures from molded patterns during the demolding process. The application of the fabricated COP devices can be found in [22], and the developed soft hot embossing process is discussed in this paper.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Study on soft hot embossing process for making microstructures in a cyclo-olefin polymeric (COP) film

Lee

Hsu²

2022

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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Thermoplastic polymers are the primary materials for fabricating commercial microfluidic devices. Despite many excellent properties, the low thermal conductivity is a common limiting factor in speeding up temperature-dependent biological processes, particularly for polymerase chain reactions. There is a need to develop a fabrication process to create thin-film microfluidic devices that can have a small thermal mass and a short microchannel-to-surface distance. This type of device requires the depth of micropatterns to be very close to the film thickness, which can encounter serious fractures during the demolding process. To overcome this challenge, we develop a soft hot embossing process to create micropatterns in a 188 µm thick cyclo-olefin polymeric (COP) film with a high embossing-depth to film-thickness ratio. The advantage of using a soft master is it can easily be peeled off from the molded film without causing a fracture from micropatterns. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is used as the soft silicone master, and four different 110 µm high micropatterns are studied, including ribs, grooves, and circular columns and cavities. PDMS masters for creating a 110 µm deep microchannel with different arrays of 70 µm deep microwells are also investigated. The heights of these one-layer and two-layer PDMS masters are 58.8% and 95.7% of the film thickness. Experimental findings show that less than 3% height variation can be achieved using a single-layer PDMS master with a low aspect ratio. For the two-layer micropatterns, it was found that a dense array with a smaller gap between microwells can have a better pattern transfer. In summary, this study demonstrates the feasibility of using a soft master to create deep or tall micropatterns in a COP film. The possibility of using a soft hot embossing process to create micropatterns for thin-film microfluidic devices is verified.

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Section: Soft Hot Embossing For Making Two-layer Patternsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Soft Hot Embossing For Making Two-layer Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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