Obviously, there are also shortcomings in using PDMS for microfluidic chip fabrication. Permeability: PDMS is gas permeable which can be used in cell culture, gas sensors, etc.Cost : PDMS is much more less expensive than other materials used for microfluidic chip fabrication.Furthermore its elasticity can be “tuned” using cross-linking agents valve integration through channel deformation. Elasticity: PDMS is quite elastic and this propriety can be used for various applications, e.g.Transparency: micro-channels and their content can be seen directly.The reasons that make PDMS a very good material for chip fabrication are several, the main are here summarized: This material can be found in food as an additive (E900), in cosmetic products and lubricating oils. The acronym PDMS indicates the Polydimethylsiloxane, a mineral-organic polymer of the siloxane family. Among them, one of the most used is PDMS. Polymers are widely used in the fabrication of microfluidic devices because of their good bio-chemical performance and low-cost. The more curious reader can find more information in many excellent reviews published on the topic, such as the ones by Nge et al. 2013 and We et a. In this chapter the most common material used in microfluidics will be briefly reviewed. Ultimately, is the application which guides the researcher in the selection. Obviously, there is no such thing as a "perfect" material as everyone of them has some advantages and drawbacks when employed in microfluidics. These can be primarily categorized into: inorganic, polymeric and paper. Over the years several materials, such as glass, silicon and polymers, have been employed to manufacture microfluidics device. That is why microfluidics, and in particular, microfluidic chips are often referred to as "Laboratory-on-chip". In the following, a brief overlook of the most common materials employed to manufacture microfluidic chips will be provided. Therefore, microfluidic chips allow to integrate several functions that generally require an entire laboratory, in a single micro-seized device. In addition, active or passive flow-control elements, such as membranes or valves, can be implemented onto the chip in order to carefully manage fluids. These are devices where patterns of microchannels are either molded or engraved. In order to control and confine fluids at the micro-scale, microfluidic chips are used. This an other unique features are at the basis of the revolution brought by microfluidics in science. At these sizes, fluids' dynamics radically changes compared to everyday life: for instance, water streams are laminar, meaning that they do not mix or form vortexes or eddies. Microfluidics designates the science but also the techniques behind flow managing at the micro-scale.
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