Perspectives in translating microfluidic devices from laboratory prototyping into scale-up production

Abstract

Transforming lab research into a sustainable business is becoming a trend in the microfluidic field. However, there are various challenges during the translation process due to the gaps between academia and industry, especially from laboratory prototyping to industrial scale-up production, which is critical for potential commercialization. In this Perspective, based on our experience in collaboration with stakeholders, e.g., biologists, microfluidic engineers, diagnostic specialists, and manufacturers, we aim to share our understanding of the manufacturing process chain of microfluidic cartridge from concept development and laboratory prototyping to scale-up production, where the scale-up production of commercial microfluidic cartridges is highlighted. Four suggestions from the aspect of cartridge design for manufacturing, professional involvement, material selection, and standardization are provided in order to help scientists from the laboratory to bring their innovations into pre-clinical, clinical, and mass production and improve the manufacturability of laboratory prototypes toward commercialization.

Microfluidic SERS devices: brightening the future of bioanalysis

“…Nevertheless, it is time-consuming, generates a significant amount of chemical waste, and is still not able to respond to the great demand for the output of chips in large-scale production. Thermoplastic elastomers, in contrast, can be manipulated by the already full developed industrial polymer manufacturing technologies which simplifies and reduces the cost of mass production [ 22 , 25 , 229 ]. Additionally, PDMS strongly adsorbs biomolecules, later leaching them into the sample flow [ 230 ].…”

“…All these parameters need to be carefully thought and as they will influence the fluid behaviour which ultimately can compromise the assay. Although significant efforts have been dedicated to optimising an approach for a particular application, the production volume, cost, and reproducibility need to be considered for commercial purposes in early stages [ 229 ]. This is especially the case for low-resource settings that have shortage of sensitive and cost-efficient systems.…”

Investigation of Solvent-Assisted In-Mold Bonding of Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (COC) Microfluidic Chips

“…Qu et al [18] optimized the thermal bonding process of microfluidic chips with the goal of bonding strength and bonding percentage at the interface. However, thermal bonding of microfluidic chips is often completed on hot press equipment at a temperature close to its glass-transition temperature (T g ), which could result in deformation in the microchannels and prolong the processing time [19,20]. From the author's previous research, a novel thermal bonding strategy called in-mold bonding was proposed to shorten the manufacturing cycle [21].…”

“…The combination of thermal bonding and solvent bonding would probably be an ideal choice in the fabrication of microfluidic chips. Assisted with solvent exposure, thermal bonding can achieve very high bonding strength [19,20]. In this study, in order to shorten the manufacturing time while optimizing the bonding quality, a solvent-assisted in-mold bonding method was proposed, especially for the scale-up production of microfluidic chips.…”

Labeling on a Chip of Cellular Fibronectin and Matrix Metallopeptidase-9 in Human Serum

“…The conventional fabrication of microfluidic devices uses the casting polymer method on a mold as a master pattern that is fabricated using a costly lithography process [ 2 ]. Low-cost fabrication molds were introduced using micro-milling to engrave acrylic materials, simplifying the laborious lithography process and significantly cutting the fabrication cost [ 21 , 22 ]. Moreover, the straightforward fabrication process that can be accomplished outside the cleanroom facilities, acrylic is an incredibly cheap material, transparent and robust for the master pattern of microfluidics, with a resolution down to 100 µm [ 21 , 23 ].…”