Micro fabrication of cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) based microfluidic devices

Abstract

Microfabrication of polymer using hot embossing technique are becoming increasingly important and considered as low-cost alternative to the silicon or glassbased micro-electro-mechanical systems technologies. This report is based on a parametric study on the hot embossing of cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) (Topas-6015 grade).The key process parameters in hot embossing such as the embossing temperature, load, the holding time and the demolding temperature significantly impact the quality of the embossed product. The work was performed to understand the influence of the various process parameters on the embossed micro-size patterns with the aim to develop the capability for microfluidic devices manufacturing. Microembossed polymer replicates were measured using a PLl confocal microscope and inspected using a scanning electron microscope. It was established that the optimal embossing temperature for COC is 10°C above its T g , while an optimal embossing load of 2.94 kN and holding time of 180 s are required. We have also demonstrated the effective sealing of the microchannel without destroying the channel integrity by thermal bonding technique.

Study of the Stability and Hydrophilicity of Plasma-Modified Microfluidic Materials

“…Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (COC) is a thermoplastic copolymer composed of norbornene (C 7 H 10 ) and ethylene (H 2 CCH 2 ) groups. Other polymeric materials such as polymethyl methacrylate or polystyrene are often used as starting microfluidic materials, but the COC grade 6013S has the unique advantage of exhibiting a high glass transition temperature ( T g = 130 °C), which allows it to be shaped easily and to be coated using conventional vacuum techniques without any surface processing . Moreover, COC is resistant to hydrolysis, acids, alkalis, and polar solvents.…”

Application of Microfluidic Chip Technology in Food Safety Sensing

“…PS has excellent biocompatibility, and has significant advantages in the field of cell culture [36] as the matrix material of microfluidic chips; COC is a relatively new amorphous copolymer material. Compared with PMMA and other thermoplastic materials, COC chips have excellent transmission performance and better thermal stability in the ultraviolet band, while the water absorption is only 1/10 [37] of PMMA, in most cases (non-extreme temperature cases). It can directly replace expensive glass chips.…”

“…After the two layers of materials are contacted and aligned, chip bonding is completed by heating and pressurizing at the same time, where the heating temperature is slightly higher than the glass transition temperature (Tg) of thermoplastic plastics, and the pressure can be set according to the actual situation. Researchers have made a deep exploration in the field of microfluidic chip bonding by using the hot embossing method, and have completed the study of the bonding strength of PMMA/PMMA [66], PMMA/PS (Figure 4b) [67], Glass (Figure 4c) [37] materials at different temperatures and pressures. The failure of thermocompression bonding for thermoplastic materials is often caused by the collapse of microstructure during the bonding process, due to excessive temperature or pressure.…”

Biomarker detection for disease diagnosis using cost-effective microfluidic platforms

“…45 . These microfluidic platforms includes glass, 21, 46, 47 polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), 45, 48, 49 poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), 36, 50, 51 poly(cyclic olefin), 52, 53 paper-based, 23, 54–59 and hybrid devices. 36, 60, 61 …”