Hydrogel Reactive Microbonding (hrmb) Method for the Use of Tetra-peg Gel as a Structural Material for Microfluidic Devices

Hydrogel is a useful material for biomedical applications because of its softness and solute permeability, but the use of hydrogel as a structural material for microfluidic devices is challenging due to the lack of a hydrogel-solid bonding method. We have developed a hydrogel reactive microbonding (HRMB) method that enables the use of Tetra-PEG gel, which has an extraordinarily uniform network structure[1], as a new structural material. It was demonstrated that the excellent characteristics of the Tetra-PEG gel, such as high deformability, solute permeability and biocompatibility, are advantageous for microfluidic devices, particularly for (i) membrane actuators, (ii) concentration patterning devices and (iii) implantable devices.