Glass based micro total analysis systems: Materials, fabrication methods, and applications

Microfluidics has become recognized as a powerful platform technology with a wide range of applications in various fields, such as biology, biomedicine, chemistry and environment. To achieve higher performance, microfluidic devices are required to have superior optical transparency; mechanical, chemical and thermal stability; as well as easy design and fabrication. All of these requirements make glass as an attractive and ideal material for the fabrication of microfluidic devices due to its excellent characteristics in optical, mechanical, thermal, electrical and chemical aspects in comparison to other materials (e.g., silicon and polydimethylsiloxane). In order to give preliminary guidance for researchers from different backgrounds, we provide a comprehensive overview of the fabrication methods for glass-based microfluidic devices as well as various applications based on different types of glass. This review takes into account recent advances in the fabrication of microfluidics, such as, liquid glass and ultra-thin glass, so as to provide a full understanding of the latest research trend in this area. Finally, some remaining challenges facing the field are summarized, and potential prospects for future work with an emphasis on both emerging techniques are discussed.