Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 10, 2026
Development of a Microfluidics-Based Approach for Investigating Microtubule Polymer Mechanics
Published on: May 30, 2025
Xurography for microfluidics on a reactive solid
Amélie Neuville1, Louis Renaud2, Thi Thuy Luu3
1International Research Institute of Stavanger, PO Box 8046, 4068 Stavanger, Norway. amelie.neuville@fys.uio.no and Condensed Matter Physics group, Physics Department, University of Oslo, PO Box 1048 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway.
Abstract:
In this paper, we propose a simple method to embed transparent reactive materials in a microfluidic cell, and to observe in situ the dissolution of the material. As an example, we show how to obtain the dissolution rate of a calcite window of optical quality, dissolved in water and hydrochloric acid (HCl). These fluids circulate at controlled flowrates in a channel which is obtained by xurography: double sided tape is cut out with a cutter plotter and placed between the calcite window and a non-reactive support. While the calcite window reacts in contact with the acid, its topography is measured in situ every 10 s using an interference microscope, with a pixel resolution of 4.9 μm and a vertical resolution of 50 nm. In order to avoid inlet influence on the reaction, a thin layer of photoresist is added on the calcite surface at the inlet and outlet. This layer is also used as a non reactive reference surface.
