Microfluidic Device Fabrication by Thermoplastic Hot-Embossing

Due to their low cost compatibility with replication-based fabrication methods, thermoplastics represent an exceptionally attractive family of materials for the fabrication of lab-on-a-chip platforms. A diverse range of thermoplastic materials suitable for microfluidic fabrication is available, offering a wide selection of mechanical and chemical properties that can be leveraged and further tailored for specific applications. While high-throughput embossing methods such as reel-to-reel processing of thermoplastics is an attractive method for industrial microfluidic chip production, the use of single chip hot embossing is a cost-effective technique for realizing high-quality microfluidic devices during the prototyping stage. Here we describe methods for the replication of microscale features in two thermoplastics, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC), using hot embossing from a silicon template fabricated by deep reactive-ion etching.