(525d) Laser Cut Microfluidics Projects for Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories

Typically, microfluidics devices are created through soft lithography processes. However, this process can take over a day to complete and may be cost prohibitive for teaching laboratories.

Our students use a laser cutter extensively in both our freshmen design and senior capstone laboratories. We have found this tool to be valuable for rapid prototyping of a large variety of student projects, and have found our students to be particularly interested in using this tool to develop microfluidic devices. We have also found microfluidic devices to be a useful component of several teaching modules, able to illustrate of a wide range of core chemical engineering concepts, such as fluid dynamics, mass transfer, and reaction kinetics.

Microreactor, microfluidic mixing, and fractionation projects have been developed by and for our students. In this work we detail the tools needed for students to design, cut, and assemble laser-cut microfluidic devices in teaching laboratories, and describe the methods we have developed for avoiding common difficulties.  We also describe a means to use the laser cutter to create an inexpensive syringe pump for use with microfluidic projects.