Abstract
This paper reports a novel, negligible-cost and open-source process for the rapid prototyping of complex microfluidic devices in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using 3D-printed interconnecting microchannel scaffolds. These single-extrusion scaffolds are designed with interconnecting ends and used to quickly configure complex microfluidic systems before being embedded in PDMS to produce an imprint of the microfluidic configuration. The scaffolds are printed using common Material Extrusion (MEX) 3D printers and the limits, cost & reliability of the process are evaluated. The limits of standard MEX 3D-printing with off-the-shelf printer modifications is shown to achieve a minimum channel cross-section of 100×100 μm. The paper also lays out a protocol for the rapid fabrication of low-cost microfluidic channel moulds from the thermoplastic 3D-printed scaffolds, allowing the manufacture of customisable microfluidic systems without specialist equipment. The morphology of the resulting PDMS microchannels fabricated with the method are characterised and, when applied directly to glass, without plasma surface treatment, are shown to efficiently operate within the typical working pressures of commercial microfluidic devices. The technique is further validated through the demonstration of 2 common microfluidic devices; a fluid-mixer demonstrating the effective interconnecting scaffold design, and a microsphere droplet generator. The minimal cost of manufacture means that a 5000-piece physical library of mix-and-match channel scaffolds (100 μm scale) can be printed for ~$0.50 and made available to researchers and educators who lack access to appropriate technology. This simple yet innovative approach dramatically lowers the threshold for research and education into microfluidics and will make possible the rapid prototyping of point-of-care lab-on-a-chip diagnostic technology that is truly affordable the world over.
Highlights
Over the past few decades lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technology has been heralded as the answer to a range of biological, chemical and global-healthcare challenges [1,2,3,4]
While most of the work done to date has been in research laboratories, some of the most exciting and impactful applications for LOC technologies are in the development of rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostics for infectious diseases in developing countries, where resources for healthcare are most scarce [5]
We propose and demonstrate a solution for the rapid prototyping of low-cost soft-lithographic channel moulds for the fabrication of microfluidic channels in PDMS
Summary
Over the past few decades lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technology has been heralded as the answer to a range of biological, chemical and global-healthcare challenges [1,2,3,4]. In-spite of the decades of research invested already, LOC technology is yet to see meaningful adoption, research, and deployment in the LMICs where it is often of most value. The reason for this is most likely a question of cost, both at the research level as well as the mass manufacturing stage. LOC technologies are underpinned by the field of microfluidics, referring to the control and manipulation of fluid volumes of the order μL or nL. This takes place within micro-scale channels where macroscale behaviour breaks down and unique microscale phenomena dominate [6]. The precise manipulation and analysis of chemical and cellular behaviour, often performed under microscope, is achievable
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