High-throughput Fabrication of Advanced 3d Microfluidic Devices in Thermoplastic Elastomer for Biological Probe Immobilization

We have developed a process based on hot-embossing lithography (HEL) to pattern at high-throughput micron-size through-holes in thin thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) membranes. This novel HEL process, which is shown to provide key advantages for microfluidics applications, was applied to the fabrication of highly-integrated 3D microfluidic devices designed to precisely immobilize biomolecules on the micron-size sensing elements of microfabricated biosensor arrays. High quality deposition of DNA and proteins on a 10×10 array of 50×50 m isolated spots was achieved using the developed TPE microfluidic devices. Finally, the integration of advanced TPE devices with microfabricated biosensor arrays is demonstrated.