Rapid prototyping in copper substrates for digital microfluidics

Two rapid prototyping techniques for digital microfluidics (see figure) are presented. In the first method, actuation electrodes are patterned on printed circuit board substrates by using photolithography. In the second technique, actuation electrodes are patterned directly onto substrates using a desktop laser printer. These techniques reduce the time, complexity, and cost required to produce devices, which makes this technology accessible to any research lab.