PDMS Chips

Polydimethylsiloxane, also known as PDMS or simethicone, is a polymer widely used to prepare microfluidic chips. It is a transparent, biocompatible, deformable and inexpensive elastomer, very similar to the silicone gel used for breast implants. Besides, PDMS is easy to shape and can adhere to glass. Based on the above high-quality performance, PDMS has received extensive attention from microfluidic researchers.

After years of research, Alfa Chemistry's microfluidic chip experts provide customers with three different types of PDMS chips: square PDMS microfluidic chips, serpentine PDMS microfluidic chips and standard PDMS microfluidic chips. You can contact us directly to make a purchase. We can also process and modify these PDMS microfluidic chips according to your needs. You can also contact us to customize the chips.

Types of PDMS Microfluidic Chips

• PDMS Square Chips

Alfa Chemistry's unique PDMS demolding process can ensure the biocompatibility of PMDS chips without using fluorosilane, and can accurately flip the structure of 0.02-0.1μm.

• Reliable sealing
• High connection density
• Good microscope access
• Quickly connect and disconnect
• No need to punch holes in PDMS to get liquid

• PDMS Serpentine Chips

The upper part of Serpentine Chips is a basic plastic plate of polycarbonate with a standard Luer connector and an elastomer film for patterned conformal contact with the lower part. The lower part forms a microfluidic circuit.

• High-strength, optically transparent material
• Standard microscope slide size
• Form a leak-free Luer connection with the chips

• Standard PDMS Microfluidic Chips

The standard PDMS microfluidic chips we provide to you include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Cross chips
• Focus chips
• Shaped chips
• T1-shaped chips
• T2-shaped chips

Manufacturing Method

Alfa Chemistry uses soft lithography to manufacture microfluidic chips:

(1) Pour the mixture of PDMS (liquid) and crosslinker (cured PDMS) into the mold and heat it at a high temperature.

(2) After the PDMS is hardened, it can be taken out of the mold. A copy of the microchannel appears on the PDMS block.

(3) To allow future experiments to inject fluids, PDMS punches are used to handle fluid inlets and outlets on the microfluidic device. The fluid inlet and outlet are connected to the subsequent microfluidic catheter, and the size of the fluid inlet and outlet matches the outer diameter of the catheter.

(4) Treat the surface of the PDMS block with microchannels and glass slides with plasma.

(5) Through plasma treatment, PDMS and glass can be bonded together to seal the microfluidic chips. After connecting the microfluidic PDMS chips to the sample container and the pressure controller using the microfluidic catheter, the experiment can be carried out.

Specifications of PDMS Microfluidic Chips

Depth: 50um

Width: 50, 100, 150, 200 um optional

Blank slide: PDMS and glass slide are optional

Chips thickness: flow channel 3-5 mm, blank layer (PDMS 3-4 mm, glass 0.17, 0.55, 1 mm optional)

Manufacturing standard deviation:

• Channel height: △h =± 5% of channel height
• Height characteristic accuracy: ± 5% of channel height
• Verticality of the side wall of the channel: ± 3°

Reference

• Xia Y, et al. (1998). "Soft Lithography." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 37: 550-575

Our products and services are for research use only.