4.7 Article

Application of Micro/Nanoporous Fluoropolymers with Reduced Bioadhesion in Digital Microfluidics

Journal

NANOMATERIALS
Volume 12, Issue 13, Pages -

Publisher

MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/nano12132201

Keywords

superhydrophobic; digital microfluidics; micro; nanoporous; low bio-adhesion; EWOD; DMF

Funding

  1. German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) [03X5527]
  2. German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) within the Central Innovation Programme for Medium-Sized Companies (ZIM) [ZF4052421AP9]
  3. German Research Foundation (DFG) [422798085, EXC2193/1-390951807]
  4. Carl Zeiss Foundation
  5. European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union [816006]
  6. European Research Council (ERC) [816006] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)

Ask authors/readers for more resources

Digital microfluidics (DMF) is a versatile platform for biological and chemical assays. We introduce Fluoropor, a superhydrophobic fluorinated polymer foam, as a dielectric layer in DMF. Fluoropor exhibits stable wetting properties and low attachment of biomolecules, making it a promising material for wide application in DMF.
Digital microfluidics (DMF) is a versatile platform for conducting a variety of biological and chemical assays. The most commonly used set-up for the actuation of microliter droplets is electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD), where the liquid is moved by an electrostatic force on a dielectric layer. Superhydrophobic materials are promising materials for dielectric layers, especially since the minimum contact between droplet and surface is key for low adhesion of biomolecules, as it causes droplet pinning and cross contamination. However, superhydrophobic surfaces show limitations, such as full wetting transition between Cassie and Wenzel under applied voltage, expensive and complex fabrication and difficult integration into already existing devices. Here we present Fluoropor, a superhydrophobic fluorinated polymer foam with pores on the micro/nanoscale as a dielectric layer in DMF. Fluoropor shows stable wetting properties with no significant changes in the wetting behavior, or full wetting transition, until potentials of 400 V. Furthermore, Fluoropor shows low attachment of biomolecules to the surface upon droplet movement. Due to its simple fabrication process, its resistance to adhesion of biomolecules and the fact it is capable of being integrated and exchanged as thin films into commercial DMF devices, Fluoropor is a promising material for wide application in DMF.

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