NDLI: Steering air bubbles with an add-on vacuum layer for biopolymer membrane biofabrication in PDMS microfluidics

Content Provider	Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Author	Pham, Phu Vo, Thanh Luo, Xiaolong
Copyright Year	2017
Abstract	Membrane functionality is crucial in microfluidics for realizing operations such as filtration, separation, concentration, signaling among cells and gradient generation. Currently, common methods often sandwich commercially available membranes in multi-layer devices, or use photopolymerization or temperature-induced gelation to fabricate membrane structures in one-layer devices. Biofabrication offers an alternative to forming membrane structures with biomimetic materials and mechanisms in mild conditions. We have recently developed a biofabrication strategy to form parallel biopolymer membranes in gas-permeable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices, which used positive pressure to dissipate air bubbles through PDMS to initiate membrane formation but required careful pressure balancing between two flows. Here, we report a technical innovation by simply placing as needed an add-on PDMS vacuum layer on PDMS microfluidic devices to dissipate air bubbles and guide the biofabrication of biopolymer membranes. Vacuuming through PDMS was simply achieved by either withdrawing a syringe or releasing a squeezed nasal aspirator. Upon vacuuming, air bubbles dissipated within minutes, membranes were effortlessly formed, and the add-on vacuum layer can be removed. Subsequent membrane growth could be robustly controlled with the flows and pH of solutions. This new process is user-friendly and has achieved a 100% success rate in more than 200 trials in membrane biofabrication.
Starting Page	248
Ending Page	255
Page Count	8
File Format	HTM / HTML PDF
ISSN	14730197
Volume Number	17
Issue Number	2
Journal	Lab on a Chip
DOI	10.1039/c6lc01362g
Language	English
Publisher	Royal Society of Chemistry
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Sandwich Biofabrication Biomimetics Biopolymer Polymerization PH Polydimethylsiloxane Microfluidics
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Chemistry Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Biochemistry Bioengineering Biomedical Engineering

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