'Deceptively simple'bonding for cheap lab-on-a-chip devices

摘要

A NOVEL approach to microchannel technology could help bring low-cost,high-volume disposable"lab-on-a-chip"devices to market,a team from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST)and George Mason University(GMU)in Virginia,US,suggests in a recent paper in Analytical Chemistry.Lab-on-a-chip devices use tiny channels less than a fraction of a millimetre wide to move samples and reagents through the device,and are considered a very promising way to perform quick and cheap chemical and biochemical analyses.Production engineers foresee that for high-volume applications,the chips will be molded or embossed using a thermoplastic resin and then sealed with a cover plate.The challenge is how to bond these two pieces together.