Combining Wax Printing with Hot Embossing for the Design of Geometrically Well-Defined Microfluidic Papers

• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b18133
• Publication Date: 2018-12-24T19:46:52Z
• Authors: Niels Postulka; Andreas Striegel; Marcel Krauße; Dario Mager; Dieter Spiehl; Tobias Meckel; Matthias Worgull; Markus Biesalski
• Keywords: Embossing

A simple, efficient, and repeatable combination of wax printing hot embossing is reported. This yields microfluidic channels in paper, where fluid transport driven by paper-intrinsic capillary forces takes place inside the noncompressed areas, whereas embossed wax-bonded areas serve as hydrophobic barriers laterally confining flow. Lab-made paper sheets first coated with a were hot-embossed tailor-made metal stamp. Both (e.g., grammage, fiber type) paper-extrinsic parameters force) studied for their influence on geometry structures resulting redistribution within matrix. Embossing wax-printed at temperatures above melting point was completed 15 s. Cotton linters papers required higher than eucalyptus papers, which can be explained different intrinsic mechanical properties. In summary, both found to have strong impact resolution reproducibility channels. All all, approach fast robust reproducible manner comparably low constrains precision manufacturing parameters, such time, force, or temperature. Most importantly, greatly reduces lateral spreading seen approaches therefore allows much feature density latter.