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Microcontact printing-based fabrication of digital microfluidic devices
Michael W L Watson1, Mohamed Abdelgawad, George Ye
1Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H6 Canada.
Analytical Chemistry
|November 16, 2006
Summary
Digital microfluidics (DMF) fabrication is now accessible without clean rooms using microcontact printing (microCP). This cost-effective method enables full DMF operations, democratizing the technology for broader research access.
Area of Science:
- Microfluidics
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
Background:
- Digital microfluidics (DMF) enables precise fluid control for assays.
- Conventional DMF fabrication requires expensive clean room facilities.
- This limits widespread adoption in research settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a clean room-free fabrication method for digital microfluidic devices.
- To utilize microcontact printing (microCP) for fabricating DMF devices.
- To demonstrate the capability of microCP-fabricated DMF devices for various operations.
Main Methods:
- Microcontact printing (microCP) using poly(dimethylsiloxane) stamps.
- Three microCP-based techniques: selective etching, direct colloid printing, indirect colloid trapping.
- Electrode fabrication via gold etching or copper seeding using colloid patterns.
Main Results:
- Successful fabrication of digital microfluidic devices using microCP.
- Demonstrated full range of DMF operations: dispensing, merging, motion, splitting.
- MicroCP devices showed performance comparable to conventional methods, with reduced fabrication time.
Conclusions:
- Microcontact printing offers a cost-effective, clean room-free alternative for DMF device fabrication.
- This approach significantly reduces fabrication time and cost.
- Democratizes digital microfluidics technology, making it accessible to more research groups.
