Surface molecular property modifications for poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) based microfluidic devices.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Microfluidic devices are crucial for biomedical applications, but challenges remain in controlling nanoscale surface properties.
• Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), a common microfluidic material, exhibits hydrophobic properties leading to nonspecific protein adsorption.
• Effective surface modification is essential for advanced lab-on-a-chip technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advances in nonbiofouling surface modification strategies for PDMS microfluidics.
• To categorize these strategies into physical and chemical approaches.
• To compare the advantages and disadvantages of various surface modification methods.

Main Methods:

• Summarizing physical approaches: physisorption of charged or amphiphilic polymers and copolymers.
• Summarizing chemical approaches: self-assembled monolayers and thick polymer coatings.
• Comparing pros and cons of different surface modification techniques.

Main Results:

• Identified two main categories of PDMS surface modification: physical and chemical.
• Detailed specific techniques within each category, such as polymer physisorption and self-assembled monolayers.
• Provided a comparative overview of the effectiveness and limitations of these methods.

Conclusions:

• Nonbiofouling surface modification is critical for PDMS microfluidics in biomedical fields.
• Both physical and chemical strategies offer viable solutions for preventing protein adsorption.
• Further exploitation of these methods can enhance microfluidic device performance and application scope.