Optofluidic Modular Blocks for On‐Demand and Open‐Source Prototyping of Microfluidic Systems

Abstract

Rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices has advanced greatly, along with the development of 3D printing and micromachining technologies. However, peripheral systems for microfluidics still rely on conventional equipment, such as bench‐top microscopy and syringe pumps, which limit system modification and further improvements. Herein, optofluidic modular blocks are presented as discrete elements to modularize peripheral optical and fluidic systems and are used for on‐demand and open‐source prototyping of whole microfluidic systems. Each modular block is fabricated by embedding optical or fluidic devices into the corresponding 3D‐printed housing. The self‐interlocking structure of the modular blocks enables easy assembly and reconfiguration of the blocks in an intuitive manner, while also providing precise optical and fluidic alignment between the blocks. With the library of standardized modular blocks developed here, how the blocks can be easily assembled to build whole microfluidic systems for blood compatibility testing, droplet microfluidics, and cell migration assays is demonstrated. Based on the simplicity of assembling the optofluidic blocks, the prototyping platform can be easily used for open‐source sharing of digital design files, assembly and operation instructions, and block specifications, thereby making it easy for nonexperts to implement microfluidic ideas as physical systems.

3D printing of tissue engineering scaffolds: a focus on vascular regeneration

“…The integrated technology plays an important role in the creation of scaffolds with functional modules. Optical modules were involved by Lee et al [ 153 ] using stereography. A scaffold was fabricated by the assembly between the optical blocks and the fluid blocks.…”

The Rise of the OM-LoC: Opto-Microfluidic Enabled Lab-on-Chip

“…Increased transparency and light wave-guiding would then further optical detection sensitivity. The approach promotes open-source, standardised modular detection methods [172]. While still in it's infancy, this research highlights the move towards democratising novel fabrication methods that could circumvent high cost and complex micro-fabrication.…”

Miniaturization of fluorescence sensing in optofluidic devices

“…This instrument was used for quantification of analytes in human blood and other body fluids. Modular optofluidics is the solution proposed by Brammer and Mappes (2014) and by Lee et al (2018), among others, aiming to make the widespread implementation of the microfluidic systems more reliable (see Fig. 2c).…”

“…2c). Lee et al (2018) proposed a strategy based on modular blocks embedding the elements of the optical, electrical, and fluidic circuits into LEGO-like structures fabricated using rapid prototyping fabrication techniques.…”