What are the two common methods used for the fabrication of microfluidic systems?
Devices may be fabricated using either direct manufacturing or a replication approach; direct manufacturing is performed using typically either mechanical or energy-assisted methods. Mechanical methods are relatively traditional and use tools to remove unnecessary materials.
How are microfluidic devices made?
Microfluidic chips are usually fabricated by making thin grooves or small wells on the surface of a layer, and then enclosing those features by means of a second layer to form microchannels or chambers. Channels need to be leak-proof thus the layers must be properly bonded.
What is microchannel device?
Microchannel in microtechnology is a channel with a hydraulic diameter below 1 mm. Microchannels are used in fluid control (see Microfluidics) and heat transfer (see Micro heat exchanger).
Why PDMS is used for soft lithography?
PDMS, however, has been the most widely used material for the applications of soft lithography because of its useful properties including low cost, biocompatibility, low toxicity, chemical inertness, versatile surface chemistry insulating, as well as mechanical flexibility and durability, the PDMS can also be easily …
What are microfluidic channels made of?
Silicon and glass were the original materials first used for microfluidic applications, however as time passed and new technological advances occurred, new materials including polymer substrates, composites or paper were used as materials for microfluidic chips.
What is a microfluidic model?
In particular, microfluidic models allow including all the main elements involved in the process of extravasation (e.g., geometry of the blood vessel, presence of a 3D environment, etc.) within a cell culture device, thus reproducing the architecture of the in vivo milieu.
What are microfluidic products?
A microfluidic chip is a set of micro-channels etched or molded into a material (glass, silicon or polymer such as PDMS, for PolyDimethylSiloxane). The micro-channels forming the microfluidic chip are connected together in order to achieve the desired features (mix, pump, sort, or control the biochemical environment).
What is microfluidic system?
Microfluidics is the science and technology of systems that process or manipulate small amounts of fluidics (10−9 to 10−18L), using channels measuring from tens to hundreds of micrometers.
How does a microchannel plate work?
The microchannel plate functions as a particle amplifier, turning a single impinging particle into a cloud of electrons. By applying a strong electric field across the MCP, each individual microchannel becomes a continuous-dynode electron multiplier.
What is microchannel heat exchanger?
Micro heat exchangers, Micro-scale heat exchangers, or microstructured heat exchangers are heat exchangers in which (at least one) fluid flows in lateral confinements with typical dimensions below 1 mm. The most typical such confinement are microchannels, which are channels with a hydraulic diameter below 1 mm.
Is PDMS positive or negative?
Table 4
| Types of Master | Master Fabrication | PDMS Moulding |
|---|---|---|
| Negative | ~100 min | Over night |
| Positive | ~30 min | 120 min |
What is PDMS material?
Polydimethylsiloxane, called PDMS or dimethicone, is a polymer widely used for the fabrication and prototyping of microfluidic chips. It is a mineral-organic polymer (a structure containing carbon and silicon) of the siloxane family (word derived from silicon, oxygen and alkane).
What is PDMS in fabrication?
How do microfluidic chips work?
What are microfluidic PCR devices?
Microfluidic devices allow to accelerate PCR processes, reduce reagent consumption, reach high-throughput assays and integrate pre or post-PCR assays on-chip.
How are microchannel plates made?
A microchannel plate is a slab made from resistive material (most often glass) 0.5 to 2mm thick with a regular array of tiny tubes (microchannels) leading from one face to the other.