Microfluidic Chip Fabrication

Microfluidic chip fabrication is a process of creating micrometer-scale structures such as channels, wells, mixers, chambers, walls, columns, valves, etc. on a selected material with various fabrication techniques.

What We Can Do for You

• Selection of suitable microfluidic chip materials
• Selection of suitable fabrication techniques
• Surface modification and characterization of chip channel

Materials for Chip Fabrication

• Inorganic materials
  • Silicon
    Silicons have good surface stability, chemical compatibility and electrical conductivity which allows to integrate electronics on the microfluidic chip.
  • Glass
• Glass features superior optical transparency, high-pressure resistance, good surface stability, thermal conductivity, and solvent compatibility properties. Moreover, glass is biocompatible, chemically inert, hydrophilic and allows efficient coatings.
  • Ceramics
• Polymers
  • Elastomers
    Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is low-cost, easy to fabricate and optically transparent. Its advantages also include low toxicity, chemical inertness, and rich gas permeability. These properties make it particularly adapted for the fabrication of microdevices for cell or tissue culture.
  • Thermoplastics polymers
    Poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) features superior mechanical strength, electrical insulation and optical clarity. This transparent thermoplastic is often used as an alternative to glass, suitable for microreactors for synthetic chemistry and environmental monitoring devices.
    Cyclic olefin (co-)polymer (COP) features high optical transparency, low autofluorescence, low water vapor permeability, low water absorption, good chemical resistance and similar mechanical properties with glass, suitable for microreactors for point-of-care testing devices and optical applications.
    Polystyrene (PS) is inexpensive, easy to fabricate and features good optical clarity, suitable for cellular‐based microfluidic systems and biomedical applications.
    Polycarbonate (PC) has excellent material toughness properties.
    Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) features excellent chemical resistance, electrical, and thermal properties.
  • Thermoset polyester (TPE) features good optical transparency, high mechanical and physical strength.
• Paper
  Paper is one of the cheapest materials, suitable for low-cost analysis, especially for bioassay-based personalized medical care.
• Hydrogel
  Hydrogel is ideal for encapsulating cells due to its hydrophilic nature, high permeability, transparency, and biocompatibility, widely used in many applications such as cell-to-cell interaction, drug delivery, artificial tissue constructs, and regenerative medicine.

Fabrication Methods

A variety of techniques can be employed for fabrication of microfluidic chips. STEMart is able to help customers choose the best suited method based on the material substrate, cost, manufacturing time and desired functions.

• Photolithography
• Soft lithography
  • Replica molding
  • Microtransfer molding
  • Micromolding in capillaries
• Electron-beam lithography
• LIGA
• Electro discharge machining
• Etching techniques
  • Wet etching
  • Dry etching (physical dry etching, chemical dry etching, and reactive ion etching)
• Direct writing
  • Laser photoablation
  • Micro-milling
• Electro-forming
• Thermoforming
  • Hot embossing
  • Injection molding
• Polymer casting
• 3D printing

Channel Surface Modification

The channel/fluid interface dominates fluid behavior. The interactions between fluids and the channel surface can be controlled by the surface characteristics of chip material and channel surface modification. STEMart utilizes various surface modification methods to obtain a desired surface chemistry.

• Plasma treatment
• Silanization
• Polymer coating
• Nanostructuring

For more information about our microfluidic chip fabrication service, please contact us.