Thermoplastic Materials for Microfluidic Prototyping
Material choice affects what can be machined, how the chip can be closed, what it can be exposed to, and what you can see through it. This page is a starting framework — the final choice is reviewed against your specific requirements.
PMMA — Recommended Starting Material
Representative Characteristics
Optically clear in the visible range · dimensionally stable · established in research microfluidics
Available grades, thicknesses and supplier designations are confirmed during project review and are not published here.
Example Applications
Droplet and mixing studies · flow visualisation · cell culture and perfusion devices · sample preparation structures · flow cells inside instruments · geometry validation before moulding
What to tell us about your operating conditions
Material suitability is grade- and condition-dependent. Rather than publishing general limits, we ask for the conditions the part will actually see.
Chemical compatibility — If your protocol involves organic solvents, cleaning agents or extended reagent exposure, provide the exact chemical, concentration and exposure condition. Compatibility is grade- and condition-dependent.
Temperature exposure — State operating temperature, sterilisation method and any thermal cycle. Suitability should be reviewed against the selected PMMA grade and bonding route.
Optical wavelength — If wavelength-specific transmission matters, specify the wavelength range rather than assuming generic optical clarity is sufficient.
COC / COP
We can evaluate projects requiring COC or COP, subject to manufacturing review.
Cyclic olefin polymers are selected in microfluidics for applications where chemical resistance, water absorption or UV transmission behaviour differs from what PMMA offers. Which of those properties matters, and by how much, is application-specific. If your application points toward COC or COP, describe the requirement in your RFQ and it will be reviewed.
Whether COC or COP has been run for a Yeda project is not stated. These material routes are unverified against supplier capability.
PC
We can evaluate projects requiring PC, subject to manufacturing review.
Polycarbonate is selected in microfluidics for applications where temperature tolerance or impact resistance is the governing requirement. As with COC and COP, describe the underlying requirement rather than only naming the material — the reason is what the review needs.
Whether COC or COP has been run for a Yeda project is not stated. These material routes are unverified against supplier capability.
Choosing a Material
Optical requirements
What do you need to see, and at what wavelength? Visible-range imaging, fluorescence work and UV detection do not lead to the same answer.
Chemical exposure
List what actually touches the chip — solvents, reagents, cleaning agents. Cleaning protocol is worth stating explicitly: a chip that survives the assay but not the cleaning step is still a problem.
Thermal requirements
Operating temperature, and any thermal cycling, sterilisation or autoclaving.
Bonding compatibility
Material and bonding requirement interact. A material selection that works in isolation may constrain how the chip can be closed. These are reviewed together rather than separately.
Available bonding routes for a given material are confirmed during manufacturability review and are not published as a standing list.
Not Sure Which Material You Need?
Describe what the chip has to do — what flows through it, what you need to observe, what temperature it sees, how it is cleaned. That tells us more than a material name does, and gives the review a firmer starting point.