Small diameter microchannel of PDMS and complex three-dimensional microchannel network

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is an important functional material that has been intensively applied in science research, industry, medical devices, plastic surgery, etc. We presented here a new method of fabricating small diameter microchannels in PDMS without using standard cleanroom techniques such as lithography and etching. The as-fabricated microchannels had a round cross-sectional shape, smooth inner surface, and a diameter from 100 mu m down to 9 mu m. We demonstrated that these microchannels could be applied to construct complicated, three-dimensional (3D) structures of double helix, knots, as well as interconnection along different directions. Together with the merits of PDMS itself, this flexible and versatile technique showed a promising potential for applications in advanced 3D microfluidic devices, and embedded devices in biosystems. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.NSF of China [11374016]; Seeding Grant for Medicine and Information Sciences of Peking University [2014-MI-12/60224 002-0100A]SCI(E)EIARTICLExusy@pku.edu.cn82-868