Micro total analysis systems (μTAS) are highly attractive across numerous fields including science, engineering, and medicine due to their portability, low power use, and efficient sample and reagent consumption. Development of fully functional microfluidic devices is based on iterative design and testing of multiple prototype microdevices, and the use of hazardous conventional microfabrication methods makes this iterative process resource-intensive and prohibitive for many users worldwide. Rapid prototyping techniques can alleviate these issues, enabling accelerated development of microfluidic structures at reduced costs, making this technology available to a broader user base, from classrooms to researchers in laboratories with limited resources. Here, we present a green, low-cost, user-friendly elastomeric (GLUE) rapid prototyping method to fabricate custom master molds for polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based microfluidic devices, using an application of water-soluble poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) glue. The smallest features of the molds are on the order of 80 μm wide, with tunable height control from 10 to 60 μm. This method is capable of fabricating three-dimensional features. As a proof of concept, several microfluidic devices ranging from a droplet generator to a lifting gate pneumatic microfluidic processor were fabricated to demonstrate the versatility and applicability of our method. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first rapid prototyping process that can be used either as a print-and-peel method or as a scaffolding technique using the same process and patterning material. The simplicity and inexpensive nature of this application of PVAc glue can significantly improve the development of integrated μTAS devices, while also making microfluidics greener and accessible to researchers with limited resources and little to no experience in the field.

中文翻译：

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绿色，低成本，用户友好和弹性（GLUE）微流控技术

微型总体分析系统（μTAS）具有便携性，低功耗，高效的样品和试剂消耗等优点，在包括科学，工程和医学在内的众多领域中都具有很高的吸引力。全功能微流控设备的开发基于对多个原型微设备的迭代设计和测试，并且使用危险的常规微加工方法会使这种迭代过程变得资源密集，并且对全世界的许多用户而言都是禁止的。快速原型技术可以缓解这些问题，从而以降低的成本加快微流体结构的开发，使该技术可用于更广泛的用户群体，从教室到实验室中资源有限的研究人员。在这里，我们提出了一种绿色，低成本，用户友好的弹性体（GLUE）快速成型方法，通过使用水溶性聚醋酸乙烯酯（PVAc）胶水来制造用于聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）的微流体设备的定制主模。模具的最小特征约为80μm宽，可调高度控制范围为10至60μm。该方法能够制造三维特征。作为概念验证，制造了从液滴发生器到提升门气动微流体处理器的数种微流体设备，以证明我们方法的多功能性和适用性。据我们所知，这是第一个快速原型制作工艺，可以使用相同的工艺和图案材料将其用作打印剥离方法或脚手架技术。