Microfluidics / Lab on Chip

Microfluidics is the study of fluids and their behavior on the microscale.  Since their introduction in the 1980’s, microfluidic devices have been incorporated into a wide variety of applications including chemical analyses, DNA chips, and ink-jet printheads. A result of the small size of microfluidic devices is a reduction of required sample volumes and of resulting waste volumes to microliter or sub-microliter quantities.  When geometrically confined to the microscale, fluids behave differently than they do in the macroscale.  Surface forces become more influential, and device features can be developed to incorporate precise control over the introduction, mixing, and removal of fluids.

Gelest, Inc. manufactures PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane), one of the most common materials used in the manufacture of microfluidic devices.  Benefits of using silicones as materials for microfluidic device fabrication include high aspect ratios, good mechanical properties, compatibility with solid state electronics, and the ability to achieve rapid prototyping.  Gelest, Inc. offers pre-formulated 2-part RTV (room temperature vulcanization) silicones for these applications.