Fabrication and assembling of a microfluidic optical stretcher polymeric chip combining femtosecond laser and micro injection molding technologiesShow others and affiliations
2017 (English)In: Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering, ISSN 0277-786X, E-ISSN 1996-756X, Vol. 10092, article id 100920FArticle in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Microfluidic optical stretchers are valuable optofluidic devices for studying single cell mechanical properties. These usually consist of a single microfluidic channel where cells, with dimensions ranging from 5 to 20 Όm are trapped and manipulated through optical forces induced by two counter-propagating laser beams. Recently, monolithic optical stretchers have been directly fabricated in fused silica by femtosecond laser micromachining (FLM). Such a technology allows writing in a single step in the substrate volume both the microfluidic channel and the optical waveguides with a high degree of precision and flexibility. However, this method is very slow and cannot be applied to cheaper materials like polymers. Therefore, novel technological platforms are needed to boost the production of such devices on a mass scale. In this work, we propose integration of FLM with micro-injection moulding (ΌIM) as a novel route towards the cost-effective and flexible manufacturing of polymeric Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) devices. In particular, we have fabricated and assembled a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microfluidic optical stretcher by exploiting firstly FLM to manufacture a metallic mould prototype with reconfigurable inserts. Afterwards, such mould was employed for the production, through ΌIM, of the two PMMA thin plates composing the device. The microchannel with reservoirs and lodgings for the optical fibers delivering the laser radiation for cell trapping were reproduced on one plate, while the other included access holes to the channel. The device was assembled by direct fs-laser welding, ensuring sealing of the channel and avoiding thermal deformation and/or contamination. © 2017 SPIE.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2017. Vol. 10092, article id 100920F
Keywords [en]
Biomechanics; Composite micromechanics; Cost effectiveness; Fabrication; Fluidic devices; Fused silica; Injection molding; Lab-on-a-chip; Laser beams; Manufacture; Microfluidics; Micromachining; Molding; Molds; Optical fiber fabrication; Optical fibers; Stretchers; Ultrashort pulses, Counter propagating lasers; Femtosecond laser micromachining; Flexible manufacturing; Lab-on-a-chip devices; Micro-injection molding; Micro-injection mouldings; Microfluidic optical stretcher; Technological platform, Polymers
National Category
Manufacturing, Surface and Joining Technology
Research subject
ENGINEERING, Manufacturing and materials engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hv:diva-11620DOI: 10.1117/12.2251372ISI: 000404401100009Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85019413106OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hv-11620DiVA, id: diva2:1143495
Conference
Conference on Laser-Based Micro- and Nanoprocessing XI (LBMP); San Francisco; United States; JAN 31-FEB 02, 2017
Note
Funding: People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under REA grant agreement no 608473; Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 675063
2017-09-212017-09-212020-02-06Bibliographically approved