Materials selection and manufacturing of thermoplastic elastomer microfluidics

D. Sameoto; Abdul Wasay

doi:10.1117/12.2081291

5 March 2015 Materials selection and manufacturing of thermoplastic elastomer microfluidics

D. Sameoto, Abdul Wasay

Proceedings Volume 9320, Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems XIII; 932001 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2081291
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2015, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In this paper we outline some of the manufacturing advantages and challenges of working with thermoplastic elastomers as an alternative to traditional polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) for flexible and reversibly bonded microfluidic systems. Unlike PDMS, thermoplastic elastomers can be processed with many industrial polymer manufacturing technologies such as extrusion, injection molding, hot embossing and others, potentially permitting much more scalable production and cheaper costs per part. Unlike a more rigid thermoplastic, these thermoplastic elastomers are typically much easier to bond, either reversibly or permanently due to their inherent compliance and subsequent low pressures necessary to seal channels and reservoirs. Unlike PDMS however, where one material (Sylgard 184) dominates the literature, there have not been many in depth investigations into thermoplastic elastomers and their relative performance and applicability to microfabrication. We show a comparison between several categories of thermoplastic elastomer to demonstrate what issues may be encountered and to demonstrate that even for labs with minimal equipment, academic prototyping with these materials is not necessarily any more challenging than PDMS.

Citation Download Citation

D. Sameoto and Abdul Wasay "Materials selection and manufacturing of thermoplastic elastomer microfluidics", Proc. SPIE 9320, Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems XIII, 932001 (5 March 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2081291

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available