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POLYCARBONATE (PC) MOLDING MICROFLUIDICS SETUP

From PDMS to highly versatile and performant Polycarbonate PC
Fast process

Fabricate Polycarbonate chips in only 1 hour

No need for a clean room

Perform the whole microfabrication process outside of a clean room

HIGH IMPACT STRENGTH

Get chips that are resistant to high pressures and mechanical stresses

PDMS chip microfabrication

PDMS is a widely used material for the fabrication of microfluidic devices, mainly because of its low cost, elasticity and ease of fabrication.

In our molding setup, the microfabrication of PDMS chips is performed outside of a clean room. Initially, PDMS is mixed with a curing agent and degassed in a desiccator. Then, the elastomer is poured onto a mold and cured in a conventional oven. Following curing, the chips are demolded, accurately cut, and inlet perforations are created using biopsy punchers. Lastly, the PDMS is firmly fixed to a glass slide following its treatment in a plasma cleaner.

PDMS setup schematics for comparison with thermoplastic molding setup

However, due to PDMS limited chemical compatibility, high gas permeability, and low throughput, researchers started looking for replacement materials with better properties, such as thermoplastics.

Switching to Polycarbonate (PC) molding

Consequently, our engineers and researchers turned the PDMS microfabrication process into a thermoplastic molding setup for microfluidic chip fabrication. In particular, they developed the polycarbonate (PC) molding setup. 

Polycarbonate (PC) is an optically transparent material, allowing for easy visualization and monitoring of fluids within microfluidic channels. In addition, it’s a durable and rigid thermoplastic material with high mechanical strength. Notably, this material is known for its excellent wide-range chemical resistance, biocompatibility, and commercial availability, which makes it adapted for mass manufacturing. Furthermore, PC is thermally stable, which confers resistance to elevated temperatures during fabrication processes and experimental operations on the fabricated microfluidic chips.

 

Overall, the combination of transparency, mechanical strength, chemical resistance, thermal stability, biocompatibility, and commercial availability makes polycarbonate a versatile and attractive material for fabricating microfluidic chips.

Polycarbonate microfabrication follows the same steps as thermoplastic chip microfabrication, and both can be performed outside of a clean room.

polycarbonate pc chip fabrication

In our polycarbonate molding microfluidic setup, we streamline the initial time-consuming phase by implementing a significantly faster hot-embossing process. Subsequently, chip preparation is simplified using drilling tools. Finally, the chip is sealed using the existing plasma cleaner and an added laminator.

 

By integrating our recommended heat press and laminator into your workflow and adhering to our guidelines, you can seamlessly transition from PDMS microfabrication to PC material molding setup.

 

Your PDMS microfabrication process is different, and you don’t have all the listed equipment? Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered! We can provide you with all the necessary pieces and consumables; just drop us a line!

We recently published a review about the diverse materials and innovative fabrication and molding techniques used in microfluidic chip design.

Technical specifications

The polycarbonate (PC) molding microfluidic setup comprises:

 

Heat press with double heating plate

  • Dimensions: 420*550*680mm.
  • Max temperature: 300 °C.
  • Pressure range: 0-25 tons.

 

 

Laminator

  • Dimensions: 270*545*130 mm (L x w x h)
  • Max. laminated width: 335 mm
  • Max. laminated thickness: 35 mm
  • Max temperature: 140 °C.

 

 

Options: Drilling machine 

Consumables: Polycarbonate sheets.

Compatibility and Applications

The PC molding setup can also be used with:

 

Microfluidic chips produced with PC molding can be employed in: 

  • Lab-on-a-chip applications, such as nanomaterial synthesis
  • Cell culture experiments, such as organ-on-a-chip, gut-on-a-chip
  • Applications requiring specific-chip design and chemical inertia
polycarbonate PC chip
Does the process also involve mold fabrication?

Currently, the polycarbonate (PC) molding microfluidic setup focuses on the chip fabrication and bonding from a pre-existing mold. However, we do have expertise to advise you in how to make your own molds.

Resolutions as low as 15 µm (channel width) for an aspect ratio of 2:1 can be achieved.

Based on internal testing, up to 3.5 bar.

The chip can be closed with a thermoplastic slide, a microscope glass slide or a microscopy-compatible polymer slide.

Polycarbonate is optically transparent and well-adapted to microscopy.

Funding and Support

The BIOPROS and MICRO4NANO projects results helped develop this instrument pack, with funding from the European Union’s Horizon research and innovation program under HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-27, grant agreement no. 101070120 and the European Union under H2020-MSCA-RISE-2020, grant agreement No. 101007804.

 

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