CO2 laser machining for microfluidics mold fabrication from PMMA with applications on viscoelastic focusing, electrospun nanofiber production, and droplet generation

In this study, a new method for the fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels through the replication of plexiglass molds was developed. A plexiglass slab is machined with CO2 laser in the raster mode to produce the mold for the PDMS casting. Then, the PDMS replica of the mold is plasma bonded to a substrate by applying more pressure than standard to overcome the surface roughness inherited from the laser machining process. Depending on the channel complexity, a ready to cast mold in the size of a glass slide can be achieved in 5–20 min, including the design, machining, and cleaning steps. This fully automated and cost-effective mold making method proved to be the fastest among all methods, and it enables up to 2.5 aspect ratio microchannels, down to a width of 60 μm, and a height of 23 μm. The raster mode of the laser provides features lower, in size, then the laser beam waist radius. The produced microchannels were validated using several applications, such as droplet generation, nanofiber production, and viscoelastic microparticle focusing.