Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based mold prepared using a 3D-printed structure is a cost-effective material and tool to fabricate robust microfluidic chips (MCs) without requiring expensive clean room facilities. A capillary-based MC made of PDMS can be attached onto a glass substrate to visualize the chemical reactions in different types of pH buffer solutions (BSs) flowing through microflow channels (MFCs) using terahertz (THz) image sensing technology. In this study, we designed a microfluidic structure with two inlet wells and an outlet well, equipped with a Si:sapphire substrate to visualize the chemical interaction between BSs injected at different pH values (4 and 10) through an MFC. THz imaging maps were captured during the flow of the BSs using a THz chemical microscope, and the fluid dynamics was studied. We determined and plotted the variation in the THz amplitude data with respect to the BS concentration and analyzed the characteristics of the data.

Cancer genome analysis has recently attracted attention for personalized cancer treatment. In this treatment, evaluation of the ratio of cancer cells in a specimen tissue is essential for the precise analysis of the genome. Conventionally, the evaluation takes at least two days and depends on the skill of the pathologist. In our group, a terahertz chemical microscope (TCM) was developed to easily and quickly measure the number of cancer cells in a solution. In this study, an antibody was immobilized on a sensing plate using an avidin-biotin reaction to immobilize it for high density and to improve antibody alignment. In addition, as the detected terahertz signals vary depending on the sensitivity of the sensing plate, the sensitivity was evaluated using pH measurement. The result of the cancer cell detection was corrected using the result of pH measurement. These results indicate that a TCM is expected to be an excellent candidate for liquid biopsies in cancer diagnosis.

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