Low-cost fabrication and performance testing of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micromixers using an improved print-and-Peel (PAP) method

International Conference on Functional Materials and Chemical Engineering 2017

材料科学;化学工业

Abagon, Ma. Victoria^1 ; Buendia, Neil Daniel^1 ; Jasper Caracas, Corine^1 ; July Yap, Kristian^1

Fuels, Energy, and Thermal Systems Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines^1

关键词: Fabrication procedure;    Lithographic methods;    Low cost fabrication;    Microfluidic mixers;    Performance testing;    Polydimethylsiloxane PDMS;    Production capacity;    Saturated solutions;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/323/1/012001/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1757-899X/323/1/012001

学科分类：材料科学（综合）

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

The research presents different configurations of microfluidic mixers made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fabricated using an improved, low-cost print-and-peel (PAP) method. Processes, such as mixing, operated in the micro scale allow decreased equipment size-to-production capacity ratio and decreased energy consumption per unit product. In the study, saturated solutions of blue and yellow food dyes were introduced inside the channels using a LEGO® improvised microsyringe pump. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the average depth of the fabricated micromixers which was found to be around 14 1/4m. The flows were observed and images were taken using a light microscope. The color intensities of the images were then measured using MATLAB®. From the relationship between color intensity and concentration, the mixing indices were calculated and found to be 0.9435 to 0.9941, which falls within the standard mixing index range (0.8 - 1.0) regardless of the flow rate and the configuration of the micromixer as verified through the two-way ANOVA. From the cost analysis, the cost of the device fabricated in this study is a hundred-fold less than expenses from standard fabrication procedures. Hence, the fabricated device provides an alternative for micromixers produced from expensive and conventional lithographic methods.