Solvent-assisted prototyping of microfluidic and optofluidic microsystems in polymers

Abstract

Due to their low-cost and processing simplicity, polymers have made a substantial impact on everyday life and scientific discoveries. Such discoveries include the use of microanalysis and optical microsystems, which—albeit simpler to prototype than their inorganic counterparts—still require dedicated procedures at high temperatures and pressures. Here, recent developments in microsystem prototyping are highlighted, based on solvent-assisted polymer stimulation. These developments—largely inspired by the earlier demonstration of solvent-assisted micromolding (SAMIM) for nanoimprinting—enable micronscale imprinting, but also bonding to substrates and three-dimensional chemical functionalization via strict benchtop procedures. These solvent-assisted strategies are categorized into two groups: those based on solvent immersion and those based on complete polymer dissolution. Recent embodiments within each group are discussed and compared in performance. Solvent-assisted prototyping further narrows the gap of processing complexity and costs between the PDMS elastomer and thermoplastic polymer microfluidics, and also enables novel architectures and thus new opportunities in microscale Life Sciences and Chemistry investigations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016, 54, 1681–1686.