Rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices and their applications

Abstract

In this paper, rapid prototyping techniques for microfluidic master mold fabrication, using copper clads micromachining and 3D printing technologies are presented. Copper clad is a promising material for microfluidic mold fabrication due to its: smooth surface, availability of different copper and dielectric layer thicknesses, affordability and easiness of machining. In addition, 3D printing technology was investigated as a rapid prototyping technique to achieve appropriate master mold fabrication. Several molds with different channel features (width and height) were fabricated from each technique and were compared from the stand point of channel resolution, minimum space between channels, surface roughness, fabrication time and cost. Finally, microfluidic chips were fabricated using those molds by using molding technique based on Poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). The collection of these techniques offers precise channel heights starting from 15 m and different channel width ranging from 50 m in a short time fabrication process (i.e., 5min), without needing clean room equipment for molds fabrication.