Fabricating Microstructures on Glass for Microfluidic Chips by Glass Molding Process.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Microfluidics
• Manufacturing Engineering

Background:

• Glass microfluidic chips offer superior transparency, chemical stability, and biocompatibility compared to polymer alternatives like polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).
• Efficient and scalable fabrication methods are crucial for the widespread adoption of glass microfluidic devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the glass molding process (GMP) for fabricating microstructures in glass microfluidic chips.
• To evaluate the performance and suitability of GMP for mass-producing glass microfluidic devices.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of a mold with protrusion microstructures for evaluating GMP performance (roughness, height).
• Fabrication of molds for diffusion mixer, flow focusing, and cell counting chips.
• Analysis of mold wear before and after GMP using morphological comparison.
• Liquid filling experiments on a molded microfluidic chip to verify performance.

Main Results:

• GMP successfully fabricated microgrooves with good surface quality.
• Mold analysis indicated suitability for the GMP, with minimal wear observed.
• Molded microfluidic chips demonstrated functional performance in liquid filling experiments.
• Microstructure fabrication was completed within 12 minutes.

Conclusions:

• The glass molding process is a viable and efficient method for fabricating glass microfluidic chips.
• GMP offers a promising approach for the mass production of high-quality glass microfluidic devices.
• The process yields good surface quality and is suitable for various microfluidic chip designs.