title: Monolithic microfabricated valves and pumps by multilayer soft lithography.
abstract: Soft lithography is an alternative to silicon-based micromachining that uses replica molding of nontraditional elastomeric materials to fabricate stamps and microfluidic channels. We describe here an extension to the soft lithography paradigm, multilayer soft lithography, with which devices consisting of multiple layers may be fabricated from soft materials. We used this technique to build active microfluidic systems containing on-off valves, switching valves, and pumps entirely out of elastomer. The softness of these materials allows the device areas to be reduced by more than two orders of magnitude compared with silicon-based devices. The other advantages of soft lithography, such as rapid prototyping, ease of fabrication, and biocompatibility, are retained.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Unger
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thorsen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scherer
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Quake
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004548:Elasticity; D008422:Materials Testing; D011312:Pressure; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D012826:Silicone Elastomers
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D012826:Silicone Elastomers