A Review of Cyclic Olefin Copolymer Applications in Microfluidics and Microdevices

Cyclic olefin copolymers (COC) are amorphous, transparent thermoplastics composed of cyclic monomers (norbornene) and linear olefins (ethene). They increasingly utilized as fabrication materials for microsystems microfluidic devices, owing to their promising features low water absorption, high electrical insulation, long-term stability surface treatments, resistance a broad variety acids solvents. Many manufacturing processes COC-based devices have been developed in recent decades. These methodologies categorized replication methods or fast prototyping common thermoplastic devices. This review gives full discussion the COCs, various production processes, numerous selected applications platforms. The also explores COC's composition fundamental features, well fields, investigates material's potential advantages uses, attempts create comprehensive list possible benefits. Due unique simplicity fabrication, COCs projected advance future microfluidics, microsystems, optofluidics.