Contract Manufacturing
Whether it is thousands of units or millions of units, the true power of a product lies in its ability to spread widely and change people's lives. If you need dozens or hundreds of microfluidic devices for product testing or verification, Alfa Chemistry can help you. We use a quality management system (QMS) to enhance the reliability of our products.
The manufacturing, processing, and packaging of microfluidic products are carried out in our standard cleanroom facilities. All tools, molds and fixtures are manufactured in-house to speed up turnaround time and protect customers' IP.
Please read on to learn more:
Our Manufacturing Capabilities
-
Cleanrooms
Our cleanroom facilities are designed and built to international standards. Cleanroom areas are equipped with ultra-filtered air, airlocks, and program controls to ensure the space is free from contamination.
-
GMP
All our manufacturing activities are carried out under the strict GMP framework. We insist on maintaining the health of consumers through unremitting efforts to maintain product quality and consistency.
-
Measurement
Our metrology system includes a variety of sophisticated measurement systems that can verify nano-scale physical dimensions and closed channel depth, surface roughness, light transmittance, and film thickness.
-
Surface Modification
Our surface modification and functionalization capabilities include wet/dry chemical surface treatment, parylene coating, plasma activation, and other micro feature manufacturing processes.
-
Bonding
The range of bonding technologies we can use is designed to support small batches of pilot production. These technologies include heat, lasers, solvents, adhesives, welding, etc.
-
Biology
Our professional team of scientists provides technical expertise and guidance for bioassay and microfluidic platforms by understanding the impact of the microengineering environment on each bioassay step.
-
Automation
We have adopted a series of automation methods suitable for market updates and different stages of the product life cycle, including semi-automatic work centers, pilot batch automation and mass automation production lines.
-
Materials
We specialize in polymer-based hybrid products that integrate injection molding resins with metal deposition, chemical coatings, ceramics, electrodes, biosensors and PCBs.
Device Materials
Alfa Chemistry has the core expertise and know-how to manufacture microfluidic devices made of various material systems. The materials we use for microfluidic chip manufacturing include:
- Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)
PDMS is the most widely used silicon-based organic polymer and is known for its extraordinary rheological (or flow) properties. It is optically transparent and is generally inert, non-toxic and non-flammable. PDMS chip is currently the most widely used platform for microfluidics.
Fig 1. A smart microfluidic chip (SMC) with multiple functionalities to sense the status or incidents occurring on a chip. (Zhang Z, et al. 2020)
- Thermoplastic
PMMA-polymethyl methacrylate, also known as acrylic glass or plexiglass.
PS-polystyrene, a common plastic used for cell culture vessels.
PC-polycarbonate.
COC-cyclic olefin copolymer, thermoplastic polymer.
COP-cyclic olefin polymer, a thermoplastic polymer. - Glass PDMS
Since PDMS parts have rubber-like mechanical properties, they are not rigid enough for handling. Therefore, PDMS parts are usually bonded to glass microscope slides or thin glass coverslips, or even custom-sized glass substrates. We have special expertise in bonding and sealing PDMS parts to glass and various other substrates used to make glass.
Reference
- Zhang Z, et al. (2020). "Optical Micro/Nanofibre Embedded Soft Film Enables Multifunctional Flow Sensing in Microfluidic Chips." Lab on a Chip. 20: 2572-2579.
Our products and services are for research use only.
