Optimized commercial desktop cutter technique for rapid-prototyping of microfluidic devices and application to Taylor dispersion.

Abstract

Microfluidics provides a platform for efficient and transportable microanalysis, catalyzing advancements in fields such as biochemistry, materials science, and microbial ecology. While the analysis is cost-effective, standard device fabrication techniques are disproportionately expensive and specialized. A commercially available desktop cutting plotter provides an accessible method for rapidly fabricating microfluidic devices at extremely low costs. The optimized technique described in the present work enables fabrication of microchannels with dimensions as small as ∼100 μm. Straightness of channel walls is comparable to other common fabrication techniques but achieved here at a fraction of the cost and fabrication time. Solute dispersion experiments are performed using the rapidly prototyped channels to measure the effective dispersion coefficient in laminar flow through rectangular channels. The results of these experiments compare favorably to predictions from classical Taylor-Aris dispersion theory. This note provides all necessary tools for researchers and educators to seamlessly apply the desktop cutter fabrication technique. Materials list, fabrication instructions, and detailed channel characterization results are available in the supplementary material.