Fabrication of Microfluidic Chips Based on an EHD-Assisted Direct Printing Method
Xiang Chi,
Xinyu Zhang,
Zongan Li,
Zhe Yuan,
Liya Zhu,
Feng Zhang,
Jiquan Yang
Affiliations
Xiang Chi
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Equipment and Manufacturing, School of NARI Electric and Automation, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
Xinyu Zhang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Equipment and Manufacturing, School of NARI Electric and Automation, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
Zongan Li
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Equipment and Manufacturing, School of NARI Electric and Automation, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
Zhe Yuan
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Equipment and Manufacturing, School of NARI Electric and Automation, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
Liya Zhu
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Equipment and Manufacturing, School of NARI Electric and Automation, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
Feng Zhang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Equipment and Manufacturing, School of NARI Electric and Automation, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
Jiquan Yang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Equipment and Manufacturing, School of NARI Electric and Automation, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
Microfluidic chips have been widely used in many areas such as biology, environmental monitoring, and micromixing. With the increasing popularity and complexity of microfluidic systems, rapid and convenient approaches for fabricating microfluidic chips are necessary. In this study, a method based on EHD (electrohydrodynamic)-assisted direct printing is proposed. Firstly, the principle of EHD-assisted direct printing was analyzed. The influence of the operating voltage and moving speed of the work table on the width of a paraffin wax model was studied. Then, two kinds of paraffin wax molds for micromixing with channel widths of 120 μm were prepared. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micromixer was fabricated by replicating the paraffin wax mold, and the micromixing of blue and yellow dye was realized. The results show that EHD-assisted direct printing can be used to make complex microscale structures, which has the potential to greatly simplify the manufacturing process.
