A simple method to rapidly connect to microfluidic devices with large numbers of fluidic and pneumatic control lines: application to high-throughput toxicity experiments
Gregory A. Cooksey, Javier Atencia, John T. Elliott, and Anne L. Plant
Biochemical Sciences Division, NIST Gaithersburg, MD 20899
Despite
their promise to enable high-throughput science and discovery, microfluidic
devices have not yet been broadly adopted. An important missing element in
current microfluidic technology is a simple way to interface a large number of
fluidic and pneumatic lines to devices. Although often useful
in specific applications, current interfacing schemes either (i) require
tedious manual assembly of consumable parts; (ii) need considerable fabrication
and setup time for each manufactured device (including clamping and gluing); (iii)
are not amenable to incorporation of valving, or (iv) are unable to support
applied pressure. We have developed both a reusable vacuum
manifold
strategy and a fluidic reservoir system that enable rapid
world-to-chip connectivity. We have begun utilizing these tools
to load, test, and operate a 51-inlet, 144-chamber microfluidic device for timelapse
microscopy studies of cells whose GFP expression is sensitive to toxins. The vacuum
manifold maintained leak-free performance up to 55 kPa (8psi) driving pressure
on the fluidic inlets, which is well above standard operating conditions for
this chip. To improve performance for other microfluidics applications, we
tested a number of different vacuum network designs, which all performed
similarly, yielding an average of 100 kPa (15 psi) fluid holding pressure on
single inlets. Further improvement to over 340 kPa (50 psi) holding pressure
was realized for thin (<300 µm) PDMS devices having a rigid backing. Due
to the speed of connectivity and reusability,
these advances are ideal for rapid prototyping in a production
line and
are well suited to serve as “universal” interfaces.
We believe that these approaches will enable broader utilization of
microfluidic technologies by researchers and industries that were previously
impeded by lack of quick, simple, and standardizable methods to interface with
devices.
Gregory A. Cooksey*
John T. Elliot (Mentor)*
Category: Biotechnology
Biochemical Sciences Division,
Chemical Sciences and Technology Laboratory,
Bldg 227/B264, Mailstop 8313
Telephone: x5529
*Initiated but not current Sigma Xi members