Making the invisible visible: a microfluidic chip using a low refractive index polymer

Microfluidic frameworks known as micro-total-analysis-systems or lab-on-a-chip have become versatile tools in cell biology research, since functional biochips are able to streamline dynamic observations of various cells. Glass or polymers are generally used as the substrate due to their high transpa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Lab on a chip 2016-01, Vol.16 (13), p.2481-2486
Main Authors: Hanada, Yasutaka, Ogawa, Tatsuya, Koike, Kazuhiko, Sugioka, Koji
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochips
Chip formation
Chips
Microfluidics
Migration
Refractive index
Refractivity
Substrates
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Microfluidic frameworks known as micro-total-analysis-systems or lab-on-a-chip have become versatile tools in cell biology research, since functional biochips are able to streamline dynamic observations of various cells. Glass or polymers are generally used as the substrate due to their high transparency, chemical stability and cost-effectiveness. However, these materials are not well suited for the microscopic observation of cell migration at the fluid boundary due to the refractive index mismatch between the medium and the biochip material. For this reason, we have developed a new method of fabricating three-dimensional (3D) microfluidic chips made of the low refractive index fluoric polymer CYTOP. This novel fabrication procedure involves the use of a femtosecond laser for direct writing, followed by wet etching with a dilute fluorinated solvent and annealing, to create high-quality 3D microfluidic chips inside a polymer substrate. A microfluidic chip made in this manner enabled us to more clearly observe the flagellum motion of a Dinoflagellate moving in circles near the fluid surface compared to the observations possible using conventional microfluidic chips. We believe that CYTOP microfluidic chips made using this new method may allow more detailed analysis of various cell migrations near solid boundaries. We present the fabrication of 3D CYTOP microfluidic chips which allow exceptionally clear microscopic observations of cell migration at the fluid boundary.
ISSN:1473-0197
1473-0189
DOI:10.1039/c6lc00481d