Thiol–Ene Based Polymers as Versatile Materials for Microfluidic Devices for Life Sciences Applications

Abstract

While there is a steady growth in the number of microfluidics applications, the search for an optimal material that delivers the diverse characteristics needed for the numerous tasks is still nowhere close to being settled. Often overlooked and still underrepresented, the thiol−ene family of polymer materials has an enormous potential for applications in organs-on-a-chip, droplet productions, microanalytics, and point of care testing. In this review, the main characteristics of the thiol−ene materials are given, and advantages and drawbacks with respect to their potential in microfluidic chip fabrication are critically assessed. Select applications, which exploit the versatility of the thiol−ene polymers, are presented and discussed. It is concluded that, in particular, the rapid prototyping possibility combined with the material's resulting mechanical strength, solvent resistance, and biocompatibility, as well as the inherently easy surface functionalization, are strong factors to make thiol−ene polymers strong contenders for promising future materials for many biological, clinical, and technical labon-a-chip applications.

OSTE+ for in situ SAXS analysis with droplet microfluidic devices

“…[22,23] This class of material, based on thiol and allyl groups, opens a new field for soft lithography microfluidics. [24,25] In particular the off-stoichiometric TE (OSTE) [26] , has specific properties for microfluidic devices. Its surface can be easily modified, it exhibits strong adhesion properties with various substrates (e.g.…”

“…silicon and glass), it is optically transparent and shows biological compatibility. [24] Additionally, this material is very promising for combining microfluidic and small angle X-ray scattering. Ghazal et al, have combined SAXS and a microfluidic device made of an OSTE piece and two polystyrene windows, to probe the dynamics of structural transition of phytantriol cubosomes under increasing calcium ions concentration.…”

N‐Acyl Dibenzazepine Chemistry as Versatile Approach for Photoreversible Thiol‐Ene Networks

“…[ 33 ] Moreover, thiol‐ene based polymeric materials can be used for the preparation of membranes with low gas permeability, lithographic stamps as well as macrostructures for biomedical, dental, and optical applications. [ 34–36 ]…”

The Use of Click-Type Reactions in the Preparation of Thermosets

“…The polymers used were based on versatile UV-curable thiol-ene chemistry, taking advantage of off-stoichiometric ratios to offer important features for a prototyping system, such as one-step surface modifications, tunable mechanical properties and leakage-free sealing through direct UV-bonding [218]. In a more recent review by Kutter et al [219], the main characteristics of the thiol-ene materials and their use in microfluidic devices were presented critically by thoroughly analyzing the advantages and drawbacks.…”