Rapid Prototyping of Plastic Lab-on-a-Chip by Femtosecond Laser Micromachining and Removable Insert Microinjection Molding
Rebeca Martínez Vázquez,
Gianluca Trotta,
Annalisa Volpe,
Giuseppe Bernava,
Vito Basile,
Melania Paturzo,
Pietro Ferraro,
Antonio Ancona,
Irene Fassi,
Roberto Osellame
Affiliations
Rebeca Martínez Vázquez
IFN CNR, Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, National Research Council, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
Gianluca Trotta
ITIA CNR, Institute of Industrial Technology and Automation, National Research Council, Via P. Lembo 38F, 70124 Bari, Italy
Annalisa Volpe
IFN CNR, Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, National Research Council, Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari, Italy
Giuseppe Bernava
ISASI CNR, Institute of Applied Sciences & Intelligent Systems “E. Caianiello”, Via Torre Bianca—Istituto Marino Pad. 4 Mortelle, 98164 Messina, Italy
Vito Basile
ITIA CNR, Institute of Industrial Technology and Automation, National Research Council, Via P. Lembo 38F, 70124 Bari, Italy
Melania Paturzo
ISASI CNR, Institute of Applied Sciences & Intelligent Systems “E. Caianiello”, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
Pietro Ferraro
ISASI CNR, Institute of Applied Sciences & Intelligent Systems “E. Caianiello”, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
Antonio Ancona
IFN CNR, Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, National Research Council, Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari, Italy
Irene Fassi
ITIA CNR, Institute of Industrial Technology and Automation, National Research Council, Via P. Lembo 38F, 70124 Bari, Italy
Roberto Osellame
IFN CNR, Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, National Research Council, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
We have introduced a new hybrid fabrication method for lab-on-a-chip devices through the combination of femtosecond laser micromachining and removable insert micro-injection molding. This method is particularly suited for the fast prototyping of new devices, while maintaining a competitive low cost. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we designed, fabricated, and tested a completely integrated flow cytometer coupled to a portable media device. The system operation was tested with fluorescent plastic micro-bead solutions ranging from 100 beads/μL to 500 beads/μL. We demonstrated that this hybrid lab-on-a-chip fabrication technology is suitable for producing low-cost and portable biological microsystems and for effectively bridging the gap between new device concepts and their mass production.
