Ultra-rapid prototyping of flexible, multi-layered microfluidic devices via razor writing.
The fabrication of microfluidic devices is often still a time-consuming and costly process. Here we introduce a very simple and cheap microfabrication process based on "razor writing", also termed xurography, for the ultra-rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices. Thin poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membranes are spin-coated on flexible plastic foil and cut into user-defined shapes with a bench-top cutter plotter. The PDMS membranes can then be assembled into desirable microdevices via plasma bonding. The plastic foil allows manipulation of exceptionally thin (30-300 μm) PDMS layers and can be readily peeled after fabrication. This versatile technique can be used to produce a wide variety of microfluidic device prototypes within just a few hours.
Laboratory of Stem Cell Bioengineering, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, EPFL, Station 15, Bldg. AI 1106, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. matthias.lutolf@epfl.ch.
Steffen
S
Cosson
Luc G
LG
Aeberli
Nathalie
N
Brandenberg
Matthias P
MP
Lutolf
D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D004867:Equipment Design; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010316:Particle Size
D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; C013830:baysilon