Active liquid degassing in microfluidic systems

We present a method for efficient air bubble removal in microfluidic applications. Air bubbles are extracted from a liquid chamber into a vacuum chamber through a semipermeable membrane, consisting of PDMS coated with amorphous Teflon (R) AF 1600. Whereas air is efficiently extracted through the membrane, water loss is greatly reduced by the Teflon even at elevated temperatures. We present the water loss and permeability change with the amount of added Teflon AF to the membrane. Also, we demonstrate bubble-free, multiplex DNA amplification using PCR in a PDMS microfluidic device.