Fabrication of circular microfluidic channels by combining mechanical micromilling and soft lithography
Fabrication of circular microfluidic channels by combining mechanical micromilling and soft lithography
复制标题
DOI：
10.1039/c0lc00561d
复制
发表时间：
2011-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
6.1
通讯作者：
Ozdoganlar, O. Burak
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wilson, Mary E.;Kota, Nithyanand;Ozdoganlar, O. Burak
由于传统的光刻方法主要局限于矩形截面，因此具有复杂三维几何形状的微流控通道的制造对微流控领域提出了重大挑战。在本文中，我们展示了使用机械微加工来制造具有复杂横截面几何形状的微流体通道。微型铣削工具首先用于在平面金属表面上制造半圆形图案，以创建主模具。然后通过两步反向成型工艺将微磨图案转移到聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）上。使用这些半圆形的PDMS通道，通过对齐和粘接两个通道面对面创建圆形横截面微通道。制备了直线型和蛇形微通道，并通过扫描电镜和非接触轮廓术对金属母模和PDMS模具的通道几何形状和精度进行了评估。通过通道灌注液体来检测通道功能。这项工作表明，微加工软光刻技术能够为微流体应用制造非矩形横截面通道。我们相信这种方法将在许多领域发挥重要作用，从仿生学和血管工程到微制造和微反应器技术。
The fabrication of microfluidic channels with complex three-dimensional (3D) geometries presents a major challenge to the field of microfluidics, because conventional lithography methods are mainly limited to rectangular cross-sections. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of mechanical micromachining to fabricate microfluidic channels with complex cross-sectional geometries. Microscale milling tools are first used to fabricate semi-circular patterns on planar metallic surfaces to create a master mold. The micromilled pattern is then transferred to polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) through a two-step reverse molding process. Using these semi-circular PDMS channels, circular cross-sectioned microchannels are created by aligning and adhering two channels face-to-face. Straight and serpentine-shaped microchannels were fabricated, and the channel geometry and precision of the metallic master and PDMS molds were assessed through scanning electron microscopy and non-contact profilometry. Channel functionality was tested by perfusion of liquid through the channels. This work demonstrates that micromachining enabled soft lithography is capable of fabricating non-rectangular cross-section channels for microfluidic applications. We believe that this approach will be important for many fields from biomimetics and vascular engineering to microfabrication and microreactor technologies.