Lab-on-Foil Microfluidics – Joanneum Research Materials
Within MedPhab, JOANNEUM RESEARCH MATERIALS develops and demonstrates high-throughput roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing processes for lab-on-foil microfluidic chips.
Using continuous R2R UV (nano)imprint lithography, microfluidic channel structures are replicated into UV-curable resin on flexible foil substrates and prepared as semi-finished products for subsequent integration. Additional R2R bio-functionalisation and UV-assisted lamination steps enable the transition from patterned foils to fully integrated, application-ready disposables.
Key features
- Channel depths up to ~125 µm
- Typical microfluidic feature size of > 50 µm
- Imprint speeds up to 5 m/min (up to 500 chips (25 mm x 75 mm) / min)
- 2-layer 3D microfluidic architectures via an “origami” folding concept
- Integration with R2R biofunctionalisation and UV-assisted lamination for fully functional disposable cartridges
These R2R-imprinted lab-on-foil platforms are particularly suited for cost-efficient, disposable microfluidic cartridges in diagnostics and other photonics-enabled medical applications.
