A Methodology for Rapid Prototyping Microfluidic Devices with Sophisticated Functionality

Microfluidic laboratory-on-a-chip (LOC) systems based on a modular architecture are presented. A multi-layer approach segregates components belonging to two fundamental categories: passive fluidic components (channels and reaction chambers) and active electromechanical control structures (sensors and actuators). Components belonging to these two categories are built separately on different physical layers and can communicate fluidically via cross-layer interconnects. We demonstrated the utility of this architecture by developing systems for two separate biochemical applications: one for detection of protein markers of cancer and another for detection of metal ions.