Rapid prototyping of plastic lab-on-a-chip by femtosecond laser micromachining and removable insert microinjection molding

We have introduced a new hybrid fabrication method for lab-on-a-chip devices through the combination of femtosecond laser micromachining and removable insert micro-injection molding. This method is particularly suited for the fast prototyping of new devices, while maintaining a competitive low cost. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we designed, fabricated, and tested a completely integrated flow cytometer coupled to a portable media device. The system operation was tested with fluorescent plastic micro-bead solutions ranging from 100 beads/μL to 500 beads/μL. We demonstrated that this hybrid lab-on-a-chip fabrication technology is suitable for producing low-cost and portable biological microsystems and for effectively bridging the gap between new device concepts and their mass production.