PFI-RP: Mass-Manufacturing of Low-Cost, Lower Environmental Impact Microfluidics

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation – Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) project is to develop new ways of leveraging existing US-based legacy, mass-manufacturing infrastructure and knowledge to provide new materials that can be used in biotechnology applications ranging from diagnostics to water disinfection. Although this project will not seek to directly create diagnostic or disinfection devices, it will provide new materials to manufacturers of such devices and serve to address the critical gap of affordability and availability of the necessary materials.

The knowledge generated as part of this work will enable the rapid development and testing of new technologies that leverage the power of microfluidics to improve lives and generate actionable information. The proposed approach will directly leverage the technological capabilities and facilities of Maine-based paper manufacturers, positioning Maine and traditional paper mill workers to participate in the biotechnology revolution.

Finally, this project will train students in the types of skills sets needed to not only develop technology that can make lives better, but also to bridge the gap from the lab to the market, sparking interest in and comfort with working at the industry-academia interface.

This project will result in the building and de-risking of functional microfluidic prototypes using industrial-scale, US-manufactured roll-to-roll cast microfluidic channel systems. To maximize the potential of the research, three proof-of-concept applications at different length scales will be targeted: microdroplet generation, cell sorting, and water disinfection.

The prototypes will be used to facilitate integration with the worldwide microfluidic industry. Through the development process, the team will elucidate mechanistic design rules that enable the fabrication of prototype microfluidic devices, making it simpler for industry leaders interested in developing new products to quickly test designs compatible with industrial-scale roll-to-roll processes.

The set of tools created for the commercial microfluidics industry will bridge the historically wide gap between academic benchtop microfluidic designs and platforms which can be transferred to mass-manufacturing. In addition to creating a pathway for cost-effective scale-up of microfluidic technology, the ability to quickly test prototypes of scalable microfluidic devices in roll-to-roll compatible prototyping processes has great potential to inform the design of new advanced materials for a broad range of applications beyond the traditional diagnostic test and/or small-scale liquid treatment markets, including new and fast-growing markets such as wearable technology and low-cost sensor systems.

This project is jointly funded by Partnerships for Innovation program (PFI) and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.