Strategy for fast manufacturing of 3D hydrodynamic focusing multilayer microfluidic chips and its application for flow-based synthesis of gold nanoparticles

Abstract

Fabrication of 3D microfluidic devices is normally quite expensive and tedious. A strategy was established to rapidly and effectively produce multilayer 3D microfluidic chips which are made of two layers of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) sheets and three layers of double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes. The channel structures were cut in each layer by cutting plotter before assembly. The structured channels were covered by a PMMA sheet on top and a PMMA carrier which contained threads to connect with tubing. A large variety of PMMA slides and PSA tapes can easily be designed and cut with the help of a cutting plotter. The microfluidic chip was manually assembled by a simple lamination process.The complete fabrication process from device design concept to working device can be completed in minutes without the need of expensive equipment such as laser, thermal lamination, and cleanroom. This rapid frabrication method was applied for design of a 3D hydrodynamic focusing device for synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as proof-of-concept. The fouling of AuNPs was prevented by means of a sheath flow. Different parameters such as flow rate and concentration of reagents were controlled to achieve AuNPs of various sizes. The sheet-based fabrication method offers a possibility to create complex microfluidic devices in a rapid, cheap and easy way.

Gold Nanoparticles Based Optical Biosensors for Cancer Biomarker Proteins: A Review of the Current Practices

“…Such systems provide safe and effective diagnosis and targeted cancer treatment ( Wang et al, 2008 ). Different polymers used in the synthesis of AuNPs include poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) ( Wang et al, 2020 ), Poly (N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) ( Fazleeva et al, 2021 ), chitosan (CS) ( Hu et al, 2018 ), polystyrene (PS) ( Gálvez-Vergara et al, 2020 ), poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) ( Wang and Seidel, 2021 ) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) ( Amourizi et al, 2020 ).…”

Continuous Electroformation of Gold Nanoparticles in Nanoliter Droplet Reactors

“…Plenty of studies have focused on the synthesis of AuNPs by chemical and electrochemical reduction, plasma‐induced methods, spark ablation techniques, and seeding growth mechanisms [8–12] . Recently, new approaches have allowed for better control of their size, shape, chirality, stability and reproducibility, as well as for “greener” technologies [13–16] …”

“…[8][9][10][11][12] Recently, new approaches have allowed for better control of their size, shape, chirality, stability and reproducibility, as well as for "greener" technologies. [13][14][15][16] A main challenge in the synthesis of any colloidal nanoparticle is their tendency to aggregate, [17] where the aggregation not only results in a lower surface-to-volume ratio, detrimental for catalysis, but also in a drastic change on their physicochemical properties and interaction with other materials. For example, the intracellular uptake of spherical gold nanoparticles is governed by their size, [18][19][20] and aggregation can lead to a potential cell toxicity.…”

Kontinuierliche Elektrochemische Synthese von Gold‐Nanopartikeln in Nanoliter‐Reaktoren

“…Zahlreiche Studien zeigen die Synthese von AuNP durch chemische und elektrochemische Reduktion, plasmainduzierte Verfahren, Ablationstechniken und Wachstumsmechanismen [8–12] . In den letzten Jahren haben neue Ansätze dazu beigetragen, eine bessere Kontrolle der Partikelgröße, Form, Chiralität, Stabilität und Reproduzierbarkeit zu erreichen, sowie umweltschonendere Technologien einzusetzen [13–16] …”

“…[8][9][10][11][12] In den letzten Jahren haben neue Ansätze dazu beigetragen, eine bessere Kontrolle der Partikelgröße, Form, Chiralität, Stabilität und Reproduzierbarkeit zu erreichen, sowie umweltschonendere Technologien einzusetzen. [13][14][15][16] Eine der größten Herausforderungen bei der Synthese von kolloidalen Nanopartikeln ist die Tendenz zur Aggregation. [17] Die Aggregatbildung verringert nicht nur das Verhältnis von Oberfläche zu Volumen, was für Katalyseanwendungen nachteilig ist, sondern führt auch zu einer drastischen Veränderung der physikochemischen Eigenschaften und der Wechselwirkung mit anderen Materialien.…”