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Direct, one-step molding of 3D-printed structures for convenient fabrication of truly 3D PDMS microfluidic chips

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Abstract

In this work, we developed a convenient, one-step soft-lithographic-based molding technique for molding truly 3D microfluidic channels in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by overcoming two grand challenges. We optimized the post-treatment conditions for 3D-printed resin structures to facilitate the use of them as masters for PDMS replica molding. What is more important, we demonstrated a novel method for single-step molding from 3D-printed microstructures to generate truly 3D microfluidic networks easily. With this technique, we fabricated some key, functional 3D microfluidic structures and components including a basket-weaving network, a 3D chaotic advective mixer and microfluidic peristaltic valves. Furthermore, an interesting “injection-on-demand” microfluidic device was also demonstrated. Our technique offers a simple, fast route to the fabrication of 3D microfluidic chips in a short time without clean-room facilities.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the funding provided by Hong Kong Research Grants Council (#605210, #604712 and CUHK4/CRF/12G).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

    Ho Nam Chan, Yangfan Chen, Yiwei Shu, Yin Chen, Qian Tian & Hongkai Wu

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  1. Ho Nam Chan
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  2. Yangfan Chen
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  3. Yiwei Shu
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  4. Yin Chen
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  5. Qian Tian
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  6. Hongkai Wu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hongkai Wu.

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Chan, H.N., Chen, Y., Shu, Y. et al. Direct, one-step molding of 3D-printed structures for convenient fabrication of truly 3D PDMS microfluidic chips. Microfluid Nanofluid 19, 9–18 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-014-1542-4

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