Development of self-aligning two-stage co-delivery microchannel network

Abstract

A modified soft lithography process by simultaneously integrating the elastomeric mold and partial curing techniques is developed. Based on this fabrication process, a two-stage co-delivery microchannel network with a membrane structure sandwiched in between has been successfully demonstrated. Owing to the self-aligning characteristic between microchannels which are located at two different layers in the as-fabricated 3D network structure, trivial manual assembly as well as the relatively high requirement on alignment accuracy - commonly associated with most 3D microchannel fabrication technologies - is totally precluded in the current case. Besides this largely simplified process and the resultant improvement in process repeatability, the unique structure obtained with this modified process also demonstrates high potential in many application areas. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.