A Flexible Method for Nanofiber-based 3D Microfluidic Device Fabrication for Water Quality Monitoring

• Main Authors: Xiaojun Chen, Deyun Mo, Manfeng Gong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-03-01
• Series: Micromachines
• Subjects: nanofiber-based; 3d microfluidic chip; water-quality monitoring; electrostatic printing
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/11/3/276

Water pollution seriously affects human health. Accurate and rapid detection and timely treatment of toxic substances in water are urgently needed. A stacked multilayer electrostatic printing technique was developed for making nanofiber-based microfluidic chips for water-quality testing. Nanofiber membrane matrix structures for microfluidic devices were fabricated by electrospinning. A hydrophobic barrier was then printed through electrostatic wax printing. This process was repeatedly performed to create three-dimensional nanofiber-based microfluidic analysis devices (3D-µNMADs). Flexible printing enabled one-step fabrication without the need for additional alignment or adhesive bonding. Practical applications of 3D-µNMADs include a colorimetric platform to quantitatively detect iron ion concentrations in water. There is also great potential for personalized point-of-care testing. Overall, the devices offer simple fabrication processes, flexible prototyping, potential for mass production, and multi-material integration.