Rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices for integrating with FT-IR spectroscopic imaging.
A versatile approach for the rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices suitable for use with FT-IR spectroscopic imaging is introduced. Device manufacture is based on the direct printing of paraffin onto the surface of an infrared transparent substrate, followed by encapsulation. Key features of this approach are low running costs, rapid production times, simplicity of design modifications and suitability for integration with FT-IR spectroscopic measurements. In the current experiments, the minimum width of channel walls was found to be approximately 120 mum and approximately 200 when a 25 mum and 12 mum spacer is used, respectively. Water and poly(ethylene glycol) are used as model fluids in a laminar flow regime, and are imaged in both transmission and attenuated total reflection (ATR) modes. It is established that adoption of transmission mode measurements yields superior sensitivity whilst the ATR mode is more suitable for quantitative analysis using strong spectral absorption bands. Results indicate that devices manufactured using this approach are suitable for use with in situ FT-IR spectroscopic imaging.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
K L Andrew
KL
Chan
Xize
X
Niu
Andrew J
AJ
de Mello
Sergei G
SG
Kazarian
D004867:Equipment Design; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D055616:Microtechnology; D010232:Paraffin; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000295:instrumentation*; D018511:Systems Integration; D014867:Water
D014867:Water; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D010232:Paraffin