title: A portable device for temperature control along microchannels.
abstract: For many physical, chemical and biological measurements, temperature is a crucial parameter to control. In particular, the recent development of microreactors and chip-based technologies requires integrated thermostatic systems. However, the requirements of disposability and visual inspection of a device under a microscope cannot accommodate equipment such as external heaters. By exploiting a silver-filled epoxy that can be injected and solidified in a microfluidic chip, we demonstrate a simple and inexpensive design of a conductive path, which allows heating by the Joule effect of both sides of a microchannel. In addition to permitting the maintenance of a constant temperature along the channel walls, our method can control the temperature gradient across the channel, thus enabling non-equilibrium studies in a microfluidic geometry.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica, Politecnico di Milano, 20133, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vigolo
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rusconi
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Piazza
authors.forename: Howard A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Stone