Abstract
This article describes a method for fabricating 3D microfluidic devices
by stacking layers of patterned paper and double-sided adhesive tape.
Paper-based 3D microfluidic devices have capabilities in microfluidics
that are difficult to achieve using conventional open-channel microsystems
made from glass or polymers. In particular, 3D paper-based devices
wick fluids and distribute microliter volumes of samples from single
inlet points into arrays of detection zones (with numbers up to thousands).
This capability makes it possible to carry out a range of new analytical
protocols simply and inexpensively (all on a piece of paper) without
external pumps. We demonstrate a prototype 3D device that tests 4
different samples for up to 4 different analytes and displays the
results of the assays in a side-by-side configuration for easy comparison.
Three-dimensional paper-based microfluidic devices are especially
appropriate for use in distributed healthcare in the developing world
and in environmental monitoring and water analysis.
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