A Dry Process for Production of Microfluidic Devices Based on the Lamination of Laser-Printed Polyester Films

Abstract

A new microfabrication process based on a xerographic process is described. A laser printer is used to selectively deposit toner on a polyester film, which is subsequently laminated against another polyester film. The toner layer binds the two polyester films and allows the blank regions to become channels for microfluidics. These software-outlined channels are approximately 6 microm deep. Approximately twice this depth is obtained by laminating two printed films. The resulting devices were not significantly damaged after 24 h of exposure to aqueous solutions of H3PO4, NaOH, methanol, acetonitrile, or sodium dodecyl sulfate. Electric tests with an impedance analyzer and microchannels filled with KCl solution demonstrated that (1) wide channels suffer from deformation of the top and bottom walls due to the lamination of the polyester films and (2) the toner walls are somewhat porous. Although these drawbacks limit the maximum width of a channel and the minimum distance between two channels, the process is an attractive option to other expensive, laborious, and time-consuming methods for microchannels fabrication. The process has been used to implement devices for electrospray tip and capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection.

Fast and versatile fabrication of PMMA microchip electrophoretic devices by laser engraving

“…Among those devices designed for custom analytical and bioanalytical applications, microchip electrophoresis (ME) devices are some of the most important ones [6][7][8]. A variety of strategies have been employed in the production of devices for ME ranging from standard photolithography [9] to rapid prototyping [10][11][12] and assembly [13]. Although photolithographic techniques have been traditionally used to produce high-end devices using silica-based substrates, the process can be time-consuming and render chips that are (often) too expensive for most research laboratories.…”

Microssistemas de análises químicas: introdução, tecnologias de fabricação, instrumentação e aplicações

“…Tan e colaboradores 44 inicialmente propuseram o uso de máquinas fotocopiadoras para gerar moldes descartáveis, os quais foram então empregados para a rápida prototipagem de microestruturas em PDMS. Do Lago e colaboradores 45 propuseram um processo de impressão direta para a rápida produção de microdispositivos. Neste processo, os padrões de imagens são impressos sobre um filme de poliéster (transparência de retroprojeção) usando uma impressora laser para depositar seletivamente uma camada de toner, a qual define as dimensões dos canais microfluídicos.…”

Colorimetric Detection of Glucose in Biological Fluids Using Toner-Based Microzone Plates

“…13,14 Toner was firstly explored for microfabrication in 2001, when Tan et al 15 suggested the use of a photocopying machine to create a high-relief master for prototyping of microfluidic devices in poly(dimetilsyloxane) (PDMS) substrate. In 2003, do Lago et al 16 proposed the direct fabrication of microfluidic devices using a laser printer for the deposition of toner layers on polyester films followed by a thermal lamination for sealing of channels at low temperature. Since this pioneering report, laser printing technology (LPT) has been used to produce microfluidic toner-based analytical devices (µTADs) at very low cost.…”