Parylene-C Modified OSTE Molds for PDMS Microfluidic Chip Fabrication and Applications in Plasma Separation and...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfabrication

Background:

• Thiol groups on OSTE surfaces interfere with PDMS curing.
• Existing microfabrication methods face challenges with specific polymer combinations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel microfabrication process overcoming OSTE-PDMS curing interference.
• To demonstrate the application of the developed process in microfluidic devices.

Main Methods:

• Integration of Parylene-C coating to encapsulate thiol groups on OSTE surfaces.
• Fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micropillar and microwell arrays.
• Application of fabricated devices for passive plasma separation and polymorphic crystal formation.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of PDMS micropillar and microwell arrays using the Parylene-C encapsulation method.
• Plasma separation chip achieved up to 57.5% efficiency across varying hematocrit levels.
• Microwell array chip demonstrated stable and controllable growth of salt and protein crystals.

Conclusions:

• The Parylene-C encapsulation technique provides a robust solution for microfabricating OSTE-PDMS microfluidic devices.
• The developed microfluidic chips show significant potential for applications in biomedical diagnostics and materials science.
• This novel approach advances microfluidic chip fabrication and its functional applications.