Rollable Microfluidic Systems with Microscale Bending Radius and Tuning of Device Function with Reconfigurable 3D...

Area of Science:

• Microfluidics
• Materials Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Flexible microfluidic systems are crucial for wearable biosensors handling bodily fluids.
• Existing systems often lack the necessary flexibility for microscale bending and compact designs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a flexible, thin-film microfluidic system based on parylene for wearable biosensors.
• To achieve microscale bending capabilities and explore rollable and reconfigurable 3D channel geometries.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of parylene microchannels using a novel molding and bonding technique with nanoadhesive layers deposited by initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD).
• Development of a prestretch structure for stress relaxation to enable microscale bending without channel collapse.
• Integration of 2D channels into a rollable format and creation of reconfigurable 3D curved channels.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of flexible parylene microfluidic channels with microscale bending radius and high bonding strength.
• Demonstrated negligible channel sagging or collapse during bending and a rollable microfluidic system with minimized footprint.
• Showcased tunable device function, specifically a Dean-flow mixer, using reconfigurable 3D curved channels.

Conclusions:

• The developed parylene-based flexible microfluidic system offers superior mechanical properties and flexibility for advanced applications.
• This technology represents a significant advancement for wearable biosensors and tunable 3D microfluidic devices.
• The system's ability to achieve microscale bending and reconfigurable 3D geometries opens new possibilities in microfluidic device design.