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Fabrication of fluidic chips with 1-D nanochannels on PMMA substrates by photoresist-free UV-lithography and UV-assisted low-temperature bonding

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Abstract

A novel method for fabricating nano- or submicro-fluidic PMMA chips using photoresist-free UV-lithography and UV-assisted low-temperature bonding was developed. The nano- or submicro-channels were fabricated by exposing the PMMA substrate to the UV-light through a mask for a certain time. The PMMA substrate with channels and another flat PMMA cover sheet were pretreated with the UV-light for 2 h before they were brought together in running water. The bonding was carried out under a pressure of (1.19 ± 0.12) × 105 Pa and at a temperature of 45°C for 35 min. The chips bonded in this way could bear a tensile of 6.71 ± 2.50 MPa, and the deformation of the bonded channel was about 13%. A hybrid micro- and nano-fluidic PMMA chip fabricated with the developed method was demonstrated for the test of the electrokinetically driven ion enrichment and ion depletion.

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Acknowledgments

This study is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (project No. 20775068 and 20890020) and the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, project No. 2007CB714502). Professor Qun Fang is thanked for valuable discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, The Institute of Micro-Analytical Systems, Zhejiang University, Zijin’gang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Xianqiao Hu, Qiaohong He, Xiangbo Zhang & Hengwu Chen

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  1. Xianqiao Hu
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  2. Qiaohong He
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  3. Xiangbo Zhang
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  4. Hengwu Chen
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Correspondence to Qiaohong He.

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Hu, X., He, Q., Zhang, X. et al. Fabrication of fluidic chips with 1-D nanochannels on PMMA substrates by photoresist-free UV-lithography and UV-assisted low-temperature bonding. Microfluid Nanofluid 10, 1223–1232 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-010-0753-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-010-0753-6

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