Siloxane photopolymer to replace polydimethylsiloxane in microfluidic devices for polymerase chain reaction

Herein, we describe the preparation and characterization of a material suitable for the fabrication of microfluidic devices. The material is a silicone acrylic polymer, obtained by photopolymerization. It is polymerase chain reaction (PCR) compatible, resistant to temperature, optically transparent, and dimensionally stable; it has a better water and solvent resistance if compared with polydimethylsiloxane. Production of microfluidic layouts is successfully tested: a simple photolithographic approach allows to accurately control the pattern transfer and to produce PCR compatible microfluidic devices. The polymer characterization suggests that the proposed material satisfies all the characteristics required for an ideal PCR chip, without further treatment. Moreover, the possibility for fast, accurate, and cheap reproducibility of microdevices by liquid phase photopolymerization increases the polymer attractiveness. The material is a good alternative with respect to polydimethylsiloxane for the fabrication of microfluidic chips for biological analysis purposes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.