Improved glass-PDMS-glass device technology for accurate measurements of electro-osmotic mobilities

We demonstrate an improved glass-PDMS-glass device technology based on reactive ion etch of a thin PDMS layer for microfluidic channel forming and glass to glass bonding. Reactive ion etch process has been optimised to achieve a high etch rate and a minimum surface roughness. Typically, microfluidic channels of 2.5 mu m height and 50 mu m width are obtained on a wafer scale, providing a patternable glass-liquid interface larger than 95% of the total channel wall surface. To illustrate the capability of this technique, electrokinetic characterization of soda-lime glass (D-263) surfaces are presented. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.