Laser-Inscribed Glass Microfluidic Device for Non-Mixing Flow of Miscible Solvents.

Valeria Italia,Argyro Giakoumaki,Thien Le Phu,Vibhav Bharadwaj,Silvio Bonfadini,Giacomo Bergamini,Shane Eaton,Luigino Criante,Roberta Ramponi,Guglielmo Lanzani

doi:10.3390/mi10010023

Abstract

In recent years, there has been significant research on integrated microfluidic devices. Microfluidics offer an advantageous platform for the parallel laminar flow of adjacent solvents of potential use in modern chemistry and biology. To reach that aim, we worked towards the realization of a buried microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip which enables the separation of the two components by exploiting the non-mixing properties of laminar flow. To fabricate the aforementioned chip, we employed a femtosecond laser irradiation technique followed by chemical etching. To optimize the configuration of the chip, several geometrical and structural parameters were taken into account. The diffusive mass transfer between the two fluids was estimated and the optimal chip configuration for low diffusion rate of the components was defined.

Highlights

The recent introduction of microfluidics in chemistry and biology has led to a paradigm shift in both fields
We report the fabrication and characterization of a double Y-branch fused silica microfluidic device for the introduction, interaction, and separation of two miscible solutions characterized by laminar flow, taking advantage of the femtosecond laser irradiation followed by the chemical etching (FLICE) method [12,13,14,15,16]
In this work, we performed a parametric study of the geometry of a double Y-shaped microfluidic chip in order to minimize the diffusive mass transfer between two laminar flows

Summary

Introduction

The recent introduction of microfluidics in chemistry and biology has led to a paradigm shift in both fields. By manufacturing a microfluidic chip with a suitable geometry, it is possible to manage simultaneously two or more fluids and create dynamic interfaces between them while avoiding active mixing due to laminar flow [4,5]. The present approach exploits (mimics) liquid–liquid interfaces which could not be accessed in batch situations. Diffusive mixing between two interfacing laminar flows is a theoretically, and in some cases experimentally, well-defined process [6,7]. It depends mainly on the area of interaction, the laminarity of the flow, the time of interaction, and the concentration gradient between two or more streams

Methods

Results

Conclusion