Excellent quality microchannels for rapid microdevice prototyping: direct CO2 laser writing with efficient chemical postprocessing

Vargas, Matheus J. T.; Nieuwoudt, Michél K.; Yong, Rui Ming; Vanholsbeeck, Frédérique; Williams, David E.

doi:10.1007/s10404-019-2291-1

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Solvent-assisted bonding has shown improvement in the bond strength of the microfluidic device due to the extra roughness of the surface, which prevents air traps and increases the contact area. The treatment of surfaces using boiling isopropanol also helped to smooth the coarse microchannels produced by CO 2 lasers, without altering the properties of bonding surfaces [ 51 ]. Another method using vacuum bagging technique with thermal bonding has been explored for producing thermoplastic microfluidic devices.…”

Section: Direct Bondingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recent Advances in Thermoplastic Microfluidic Bonding

Giri

Tsao

2022

Micromachines

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Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary technology with applications in various fields, such as biomedical, energy, chemicals and environment. Thermoplastic is one of the most prominent materials for polymer microfluidics. Properties such as good mechanical rigidity, organic solvent resistivity, acid/base resistivity, and low water absorbance make thermoplastics suitable for various microfluidic applications. However, bonding of thermoplastics has always been challenging because of a wide range of bonding methods and requirements. This review paper summarizes the current bonding processes being practiced for the fabrication of thermoplastic microfluidic devices, and provides a comparison between the different bonding strategies to assist researchers in finding appropriate bonding methods for microfluidic device assembly.

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Section: Direct Bondingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…are used to improve the bonding quality of microfluidic devices. A bonding rate of 95.3% [ 49 ] and bonding strength of up to 808.0 ± 80 kPa [ 51 ] can be obtained by the thermal bonding process for PMMA substrates.…”

Section: Direct Bondingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Advances in Thermoplastic Microfluidic Bonding

Giri

Tsao

2022

Micromachines

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“…They also reported that surface roughness and bulge formation along the edge of the laser microchannel depends on the material properties of PMMA (i.e., cast or extruded PMMA). Similar post-machining surface treatment such as chemical bathing [ 23 ], thermal processing, or masking with PDMS or copper layer during laser machining [ 24 ] and underwater laser machining [ 24 , 25 ] were suggested in the literature for desired channel profile, width, depth, and surface quality. In another report, it was demonstrated that the surface-finish quality of laser-machined PMMA microchannels can be improved by controlling the distance between focal lens and substrate [ 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Analysis of Laser Micromachining of Microchannels in Common Microfluidic Substrates

et al. 2021

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Laser micromachining technique offers a promising alternative method for rapid production of microfluidic devices. However, the effect of process parameters on the channel geometry and quality of channels on common microfluidic substrates has not been fully understood yet. In this research, we studied the effect of laser system parameters on the microchannel characteristics of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and microscope glass substrate—three most widely used materials for microchannels. We also conducted a cell adhesion experiment using normal human dermal fibroblasts on laser-machined microchannels on these substrates. A commercial CO2 laser system consisting of a 45W laser tube, circulating water loop within the laser tube and air cooling of the substrate was used for machining microchannels in PDMS, PMMA and glass. Four laser system parameters - speed, power, focal distance, and number of passes were varied to fabricate straight microchannels. The channel characteristics such as depth, width, and shape were measured using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a 3D profilometer. The results show that higher speed produces lower depth while higher laser power produces deeper channels regardless of the substrate materials. Unfocused laser machining produces wider but shallower channels. For the same speed and power, PDMS channels were the widest while PMMA channels were the deepest. Results also showed that the profiles of microchannels can be controlled by increasing the number of passes. With an increased number of passes, both glass and PDMS produced uniform, wider, and more circular channels; in contrast, PMMA channels were sharper at the bottom and skewed. In rapid cell adhesion experiments, PDMS and glass microchannels performed better than PMMA microchannels. This study can serve as a quick reference in material-specific laser-based microchannel fabrications.

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“…However, the chip preparation is time-consuming. Especially, a belt-adhesive laser cutting and sealing integrated TLCSI chip is developed [10]. This method completing the bonding in the meantime during the laser cutting process shortened production time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Method for Manufacturing Flexible Microfluidic Chip Based on Soluble Material

Wang

Chen

Liu

et al. 2021

Journal of Nanomaterials

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In this paper, a novel method for manufacturing flexible microfluidic chips without bonding process is proposed, which combines 3D printing technology and material dissolution technology. The manufacturing process of the microfluidic chip is as follows: a soluble HIPS mold with a preset shape is manufactured by 3D printing and placed in a molten PDMS solution for solidification. Soak in the limonene material to dissolve the mold and form a microchannel in the cured PDMS. Experimental studies have shown that the temperature and concentration of the limonene solution have an important effect on the dissolution rate. A 0.62 cm3 HIPS mold has the fastest dissolution rate at 100°C and 50% concentration. The proposed method provided a new idea for fabricating flexible microfluidic chip. Compared to bonding process, it has the characteristics of not relying on complicated processing conditions and low manufacturing cost.

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Excellent quality microchannels for rapid microdevice prototyping: direct CO2 laser writing with efficient chemical postprocessing

Cited by 15 publications

References 48 publications

Recent Advances in Thermoplastic Microfluidic Bonding

Recent Advances in Thermoplastic Microfluidic Bonding

Experimental Analysis of Laser Micromachining of Microchannels in Common Microfluidic Substrates

A Method for Manufacturing Flexible Microfluidic Chip Based on Soluble Material

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