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Updated: Jul 13, 2026
Fabrication of the Thermoplastic Microfluidic Channels
Published on: February 3, 2008
In-channel atom-transfer radical polymerization of thermoset polyester microfluidic devices for bioanalytical
Tao Pan1, Gina S Fiorini, Daniel T Chiu
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-5700, USA.
Abstract:
A new technique for polymer microchannel surface modification, called in-channel atom-transfer radical polymerization, has been developed and applied in the surface derivatization of thermoset polyester (TPE) microdevices with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electroosmotic flow (EOF), and contact angle measurements indicate that PEG has been grafted on the TPE surface. Moreover, PEG-modified microchannels have much lower and more pH-stable EOF, more hydrophilic surfaces and reduced nonspecific protein adsorption. Capillary electrophoresis separation of amino acid and peptide mixtures in these PEG-modified TPE microchips had good reproducibility. Phosducin-like protein and phosphorylated phosducin-like protein were also separated to measure the phosphorylation efficiency. Our results indicate that PEG-grafted TPE microchips have broad potential application in biomolecular analysis.
