Digital Microfluidic System with Vertical Functionality

Bender, Brian F.; Garrell, Robin L.

doi:10.3390/mi6111448

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Besides hydrodynamic focusing, acoustics [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ], dielectrophoresis (DEP) force [ 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ], electrokinetics and magnetophoresis (MAP) [ 48 , 49 , 50 ] can be used alternatively to focus particles and cells in a microflow cytometer. Acoustic-based focusing methods do not need sheath fluids for 3D focusing.…”

Section: Major Components Of An Optofluidic Microflow Cytometermentioning

confidence: 99%

Optofluidic Device Based Microflow Cytometers for Particle/Cell Detection: A Review

et al. 2016

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Optofluidic devices combining micro-optical and microfluidic components bring a host of new advantages to conventional microfluidic devices. Aspects, such as optical beam shaping, can be integrated on-chip and provide high-sensitivity and built-in optical alignment. Optofluidic microflow cytometers have been demonstrated in applications, such as point-of-care diagnostics, cellular immunophenotyping, rare cell analysis, genomics and analytical chemistry. Flow control, light guiding and collecting, data collection and data analysis are the four main techniques attributed to the performance of the optofluidic microflow cytometer. Each of the four areas is discussed in detail to show the basic principles and recent developments. 3D microfabrication techniques are discussed in their use to make these novel microfluidic devices, and the integration of the whole system takes advantage of the miniaturization of each sub-system. The combination of these different techniques is a spur to the development of microflow cytometers, and results show the performance of many types of microflow cytometers developed recently.

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Section: Major Components Of An Optofluidic Microflow Cytometermentioning

confidence: 99%

Optofluidic Device Based Microflow Cytometers for Particle/Cell Detection: A Review

et al. 2016

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“…In literature, various substrates have been used in developing the DMFB devices [ 11 , 20 , 23 , 26 ]. Commonly, glass and silicon have been used as the substrate material [ 23 , 27 ].…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, printed circuit boards (PCB)-based DMFB fabrication technique has been studied [ 11 , 20 , 23 , 27 ]. The low cost PCB substrate is more durable and flexible than glass and silicon, which involves costly photolithography process [ 19 ].…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are many applications of DMFBs in biochemistry, biotechnology and bioassays due to their small features. For example, in bioassays, clinical diagnostic analyses for glucose assays, blood sample preparation, and drug synthesis can be conducted [ 6 , 9 ], thanks to the flexibility, programmability, and reduced wastage of sample in digital microfluidic biochips [ 10 , 11 ]. Various liquid operations such as detection, actuation, merging, and separation of droplets can be performed on a DMFB [ 2 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Droplet Velocity Measurement Based on Dielectric Layer Thickness Variation Using Digital Microfluidic Devices

2018

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In recent years, the number of interdisciplinary research works related to the development of miniaturized systems with integrated chemical and biological analyses is increasing. Digital microfluidic biochips (DMFBs) are one kind of miniaturized systems designed for conducting inexpensive, fast, convenient and reliable biochemical assay procedures focusing on basic scientific research and medical diagnostics. The role of a dielectric layer in the digital microfluidic biochips is prominent as it helps in actuating microliter droplets based on the electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) technique. The advantages of using three different material layers of dielectric such as parafilm, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) were reported in the current work. A simple fabrication process of a digital microfluidic device was performed and good results were obtained. The threshold of the actuation voltage was determined for all dielectric materials of varying thicknesses. Additionally, the OpenDrop device was tested by utilizing a single-plate system to transport microliter droplets for a bioassay operation. With the newly proposed fabrication methods, these dielectric materials showed changes in contact angle and droplet velocity when the actuation voltage was applied. The threshold actuation voltage for the dielectric layers of 10–13 μm was 190 V for the open plate DMFBs.

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“…Microfluidics is currently an active research field in both academia and industry. Among various technologies to control fluid behavior in micro scale [ 1 ], digital microfluidics based on electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) phenomenon stands out [ 2 , 3 , 4 ], by virtue of its digital control scheme and simple device structure, making it an attractive candidate for system integration with other components of lab-on-chip (LOC). A basic EWOD device consists of three layers: a conduction layer, a dielectric layer, and a hydrophobic layer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photolithographic Patterning of Cytop with Limited Contact Angle Degradation

2018

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Cytop is a commercially available amorphous fluoropolymer with excellent characteristics including electric insulation, water and oil repellency, chemical resistance, and moisture-proof property, making it an attractive material as hydrophobic layers in electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) devices. However, its highly hydrophobic surface makes it difficult for photoresists to be directly coated on the surface. To pattern Cytop, plasma treatment prior to applying photoresists is required to promote the adhesion between the photoresist and the Cytop coating. This approach inevitably causes hydrophobicity loss in the final EWOD devices. Thus, a damage-reduced recipe for Cytop patterning is urgently needed. In this paper, we first characterized the damage caused by two categories of surface treatment methods: plasma treatment and metal treatment. Parameters such as plasma gas source (Ar/O2), plasma treatment time (0–600 s), metal target (Al/Cu/Cr/Au), metal deposition process (magnetron sputtering or e-beam evaporation) were varied. Film thickness, wettability, and roughness were quantified by ellipsometry measurements, contact angle measurements, and atom force microscope (AFM), respectively. We then evaluated the effectiveness of annealing in damage reduction. Experimental results show that: (1) annealing is necessary in restoring hydrophobicity as well as smoothing surfaces; (2) specified film thickness can be obtained by controlling plasma treatment time; (3) “Ar/O2 plasma treatment + an AZ5214 soft mask + annealing” is a feasible recipe; (4) “an Al/Cu/Cr/Au hard mask + annealing” is feasible as well.

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Digital Microfluidic System with Vertical Functionality

Cited by 7 publications

References 69 publications

Optofluidic Device Based Microflow Cytometers for Particle/Cell Detection: A Review

Optofluidic Device Based Microflow Cytometers for Particle/Cell Detection: A Review

Droplet Velocity Measurement Based on Dielectric Layer Thickness Variation Using Digital Microfluidic Devices

Photolithographic Patterning of Cytop with Limited Contact Angle Degradation

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