AVS 46th International Symposium
    Biomaterial Interfaces Group Wednesday Sessions
       Session BI-WeP

Paper BI-WeP10
Surface Characterization of Microfluidic Devices

Wednesday, October 27, 1999, 5:30 pm, Room 4C

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: H. Canavan, George Washington University
Authors: H. Canavan, George Washington University
M.S. Ravenscroft, George Washington University
D. Ramaker, George Washington University
M.J. Tarlov, National Institute of Standards and Technology
J.J. Hickman, George Washington University
Correspondent: Click to Email
Interest in the interactions of biomolecules with surfaces stems from various sources, including biocorrosion of ship hulls, the rejection of transplant materials in the human body, and biological fluids interactions with MEMS devices. A variety of chemical and physical factors affect biological fluid behavior in microchannels used in lab-on-a-chip devices. We report an investigation of the effect of polymer surface condition on microfluidic properties. The primary goal of this work is to correlate the electrophoretic flow properties through microfluidic channels of different polymer substrates with the surface condition of the polymers. While polymer substrates hold great promise for biological microfluidic applications, polymer surfaces are often poorly defined which can lead to irreproducible microfluidic behavior. To circumvent this problem, we are developing various protocols to control the surface functionality of polymers. Oxygen plasma treatment has been used to introduce oxygen functionalities that can then serve as active sites for covalent attachment of organosilane monolayers. XPS, SIMS, and contact angle measurements have been used to characterize as-is, oxygen plasma treated, and organosilane-modified surfaces of polystyrene, polymethylmethacrylate, and various co-polyesters. We will report on these measurements and preliminary fluid flow experiments.