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A universal approach for irreversible bonding of rigid substrate-based microfluidic devices at room temperature

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Abstract

We present a simple and universal method for irreversibly bonding rigid substrate-based microfluidic devices at room temperature. In this method, a pre-patterned self-adhesive film covers and seals the area of the rigid substrate containing microchannels to create a closed microfluidic system, and then an adhesive-assisted sandwich bonding is used to reinforce the strength of bonding. The bonding can be achieved in 10 min at room temperature without requiring cleanroom facilities, complex surface modification, or employing rigorous cleaning. Despite its simplicity, this bonding method can create high-performance microfluidic devices with burst pressures over 2 MPa, but without channel clogging or microstructure deformation. The universality of this bonding method is demonstrated by applying it to the production of microfluidic devices with various rigid substrates. The simplicity, low cost, and universality of our method should allow it to be adopted by researchers lacking access to cleanroom facilities.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61771078 and 21407016), the National Key Research and Development Program (No. 2016YFC0101100), the Chongqing Research Program of Basic Research and Frontier Technology(No. cstc2017jcyjBX0036), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 10611CDJXZ238826).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Defense Key Disciplines Lab of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Xiaoyong Ku, Guisheng Zhuang & Gang Li

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  1. Xiaoyong Ku
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  2. Guisheng Zhuang
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  3. Gang Li
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Correspondence to Gang Li.

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Ku, X., Zhuang, G. & Li, G. A universal approach for irreversible bonding of rigid substrate-based microfluidic devices at room temperature. Microfluid Nanofluid 22, 17 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-018-2039-3

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