Roll-to-Roll Fabricated Microfluidic Chips for COVID-19 Serology Testing
Pakapreud Khumwan,
Postdoctoral researcher,
Joanneum Research Materials
Lateral flow tests have become a valuable tool in combating the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus throughout the COVID-19 pandemic owing to their simplicity and ease of use that altogether permit great access by the general public. Despite their relatively affordable price for the consumers and low cost of production for the manufacturers, paper-based fluidics that underpin nearly all lateral flow tests still suffer from a critical lack of scalability to meet the high demand of testing and versatility for other bioassay applications. To address this existing need, we leverage the roll-to-roll UV nano-imprinting lithography (UV NIL) for the high-throughput production of foil-based microfluidic chips whose biological relevance has been showcased through a semi-quantitative serology test for COVID-19 antibody detection. With respect to conventional fabrication techniques for microfluidic devices, UV NIL offers unmatched competitive advantages, particularly speed, seamless handling, and the ability to chemically adjust the material properties required by certain applications. This presentation serves to provide a brief overview of the UV NIL manufacturing process, and how we implemented it along with other processes on the roll-to-roll system to ultimately unleash its power for the development of modern microfluidic chips.
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