Rapid Fabrication of Electrophoretic Microfluidic Devices from Polyester, Adhesives and Gold Leaf

In the last decade, the microfluidic community has witnessed an evolution in fabrication methodologies that deviate from using conventional glass and polymer-based materials. A leading example within this group is the print, cut and laminate (PCL) approach, which entails the laser cutting of microfluidic architecture into ink toner-laden polyester sheets, followed by the lamination of these layers for device assembly. Recent success when applying this method to human genetic fingerprinting has highlighted that it is now ripe for the refinements necessary to render it amenable to mass-manufacture. In this communication, we detail those modifications by identifying and implementing a suitable heat-sensitive adhesive (HSA) material to equip the devices with the durability and resilience required for commercialization and fieldwork. Importantly, this augmentation is achieved without sacrificing any of the characteristics which make the PCL approach attractive for prototyping. Exemplary HSA-devices performed DNA extraction, amplification and separation which, when combined, constitute the complete sequence necessary for human profiling and other DNA-based analyses.