Recent Advances in Thermoplastic Microfluidic Bonding

• Published in: Micromachines (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 3; p. 486
• Main Authors: Giri, Kiran, Tsao, Chia-Wen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 20-03-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Biomedical materials; Bond strength; Deformation; Electrical resistivity; Methods; microfluidic bonding; microfluidic chip fabrication; Microfluidics; polymer microfabrication; Polymers; Pressure distribution; Review; Semiconductors; Solvents; thermoplastic bonding; Thermoplastic resins; polymer microfabrication; thermoplastic bonding; microfluidic chip fabrication; microfluidic bonding
• ISSN: 2072-666X; 2072-666X
• DOI: 10.3390/mi13030486

Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary technology with applications in various fields, such as biomedical, energy, chemicals and environment. Thermoplastic is one of the most prominent materials for polymer microfluidics. Properties such as good mechanical rigidity, organic solvent resistivity, acid/base resistivity, and low water absorbance make thermoplastics suitable for various microfluidic applications. However, bonding of thermoplastics has always been challenging because of a wide range of bonding methods and requirements. This review paper summarizes the current bonding processes being practiced for the fabrication of thermoplastic microfluidic devices, and provides a comparison between the different bonding strategies to assist researchers in finding appropriate bonding methods for microfluidic device assembly.