The Development of Microfluidic Devices Fabricated From Poly(dimethyl) Siloxane

Abstract

This dissertation outlines work in the field of polymeric microfluidic (muFL) devices, particularly the design and fabrication of microfluidic devices using poly(dimethyl) siloxane (PDMS). Fabrication involved lithographic and "soft" lithographic techniques. Capillary electrophoretic separation "chips" as well as a series of patterns for surface functionalization were demonstrated in PDMS. PDMS proved to be a unique medium for high pH separations allowing the electrophoretic separation of un-derivatized sugars coupled with indirect fluorescence detection. A new microfluidic design for built-in standardization of chip-based separations is also discussed. During the course of this work, a novel method for filling hydrophobic microfluidic capillaries was developed, Capillary Outgas Technique (COT). COT was coupled with surface immobilization and wet etching techniques to generate patterned surfaces.