Reconfigurable Acrylic-tape Hybrid Microfluidics
Reconfigurable Acrylic-tape Hybrid Microfluidics
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DOI：
10.1038/s41598-019-41208-y
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发表时间：
2019-03-18
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Liu, Yuxiang
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ren, Yundong;Ray, Subhrodeep;Liu, Yuxiang
人们对低成本、多功能的微流控平台非常感兴趣，这些平台的制造过程快速、直接，并可移植到工业大规模生产中。此外，有利于微流控器件在现场可重构，从而可以用最少数量的器件来实现多种功能。在这里，我们介绍了一种多功能的亚克力胶带平台，它允许高度可访问的微流体设备的快速原型制作，以及设备重新配置，以实现不同的功能。这种无需洁净室的制造和密封过程只需要激光切割机、亚克力和胶带，并且可以由未经培训的现场人员完成。实验表征了毛细管流速度与通道高度之间的关系，后者可以很好地由制作工艺控制。由于功能带实现了可逆密封，在单个丙烯酸胶带设备上演示了微流控功能的重新配置。不同的泵送机制，包括用于更好地携带的芯片泵和用于精确流体控制的注射泵，分别用于演示两相流和液滴的产生。这种低成本、多功能的丙烯酸酯胶带微流控器件在广泛的领域，特别是在医疗保健点生物医学和临床应用中是很有前途的工具。
There is a great interest in low-cost, versatile microfluidic platforms of which the fabrication processes are rapid, straightforward, and translatable to industrial mass productions. In addition, it is beneficial for microfluidic devices to be reconfigurable in the field, so that multiple functions can be realized by a minimum number of devices. Here, we present a versatile acrylic-tape platform which allows highly accessible rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices, as well as device reconfiguration to realize different functions. The clean-room-free fabrication and sealing process only requires a laser cutter, acrylic, and tapes and can be done by an untrained person in the field. We experimentally characterized the relationship between the capillary flow speed and the channel height, the latter of which can be well controlled by the fabrication process. Reconfiguration of microfluidic functions was demonstrated on a single acrylic-tape device, thanks to the reversible sealing enabled by functional tapes. Different pumping mechanisms, including on-chip pumps for better portability and syringe pumps for precise fluid control, have been employed for the demonstration of two-phase flow and droplet generation, respectively. The low-cost and versatile acrylic-tape microfluidic devices are promising tools for applications in a wide range of fields, especially for point-of-care biomedical and clinical applications.