title: Rapid Prototyping of Nanofluidic Slits in a Silicone Bilayer.
abstract: This article reports a process for rapidly prototyping nanofluidic devices, particularly those comprising slits with microscale widths and nanoscale depths, in silicone. This process consists of designing a nanofluidic device, fabricating a photomask, fabricating a device mold in epoxy photoresist, molding a device in silicone, cutting and punching a molded silicone device, bonding a silicone device to a glass substrate, and filling the device with aqueous solution. By using a bilayer of hard and soft silicone, we have formed and filled nanofluidic slits with depths of less than 400 nm and aspect ratios of width to depth exceeding 250 without collapse of the slits. An important attribute of this article is that the description of this rapid prototyping process is very comprehensive, presenting context and details which are highly relevant to the rational implementation and reliable repetition of the process. Moreover, this process makes use of equipment commonly found in nanofabrication facilities and research laboratories, facilitating the broad adaptation and application of the process. Therefore, while this article specifically informs users of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), we anticipate that this information will be generally useful for the nanofabrication and nanofluidics research communities at large, and particularly useful for neophyte nanofabricators and nanofluidicists.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899; MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Department of Radiation Medicine, Washington, DC 20007.
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Kole
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899; University of Maryland, Maryland Nanocenter, College Park, MD 20740.
authors.forename: Kuo-Tang
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899; University of Maryland, Maryland Nanocenter, College Park, MD 20740.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schiffels
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
authors.forename: B Robert
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Ilic
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Strychalski
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
authors.forename: Jason G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Kralj
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
authors.forename: J Alexander
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Liddle
authors.affiliation: MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Department of Radiation Medicine, Washington, DC 20007.
authors.forename: Anatoly
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dritschilo
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
authors.forename: Samuel M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Stavis
keywords: DNA; SU-8; device; microfluidic; molding; nanofluidic; nanoparticle; prototyping; replica; silicon; silicone