Novel prototyping method for microfluidic devices based on thermoplastic polyurethane microcapillary film

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• 作者：Zheyun Xu ; Feng Jiang ; Zhongbin Xu ; Haoyan Xu…
• 刊名：Microfluidics and Nanofluidics
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：September 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：20
• 期：9
• 全文大小：2,980 KB
• 刊物类别：Engineering
• 刊物主题：Engineering Fluid Dynamics
  Medical Microbiology
  Polymer Sciences
  Nanotechnology
  Mechanics, Fluids and Thermodynamics
  Engineering Thermodynamics and Transport Phenomena
  
• 出版者：Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
• ISSN：1613-4990
• 卷排序：20

文摘

Thermoplastic polyurethane microcapillary film (TPU-MCF), as a novel extruded product, inherently contains an array of circular micron-sized capillaries embedded inside the polymer matrix. With the aid of simple laser cutting and conventional sealing technologies, a rapid prototyping method for microfluidic devices is proposed based on the ready-made microstructure of MCFs. Two functionalized microfluidic devices: serpentine micromixer and multi-droplet generator, are rapidly fabricated to demonstrate the advantages and potential of employing this new method. The whole proof-of-concept fabrication process can be completed in 8–10 min in a simple way; each procedure is repeatable with stable performance control of microfluidic devices; and the material cost can be as low as $0.01 for each device. The TPU-MCF and this novel method are expected to provide a new perspective and alternative in microfluidic community with particular requirements.KeywordsMicrocapillary filmPrototyping methodMicrofluidic devicesMicromixerDroplet generator