Fabrication improvements for thermoset polyester (TPE) microfluidic devices

Thermoset polyester ( TPE) microfluidic devices were previously developed as an alternative to poly( dimethylsiloxane) ( PDMS) devices, fabricated similarly by replica molding, yet offering stable surface properties and good chemical compatibility with some organics that are incompatible with PDMS. This paper describes a number of improvements in the fabrication of TPE chips. Specifically, we describe methods to form TPE devices with a thin bottom layer for use with high numerical aperture ( NA) objectives for sensitive fluorescence detection and optical manipulation. We also describe plasma- bonding of TPE to glass to create hybrid TPE - glass devices. We further present a simple master- pretreatment method to replace our original technique that required the use of specialized equipment.