| RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS |


A microfluidic device made by A*STAR scientists for on-the-spot blood analysis.


Microfluidics


A MODULAR VALVE SIMPLIFIES DIAGNOSTIC CHIP FABRICATION


RAPID AND CHEAP ON-THE-SPOT DIAGNOSES FOR DISEASES SUCH AS TUBERCULOSIS AND CANCER ARE A STEP CLOSER THANKS TO A NEW MODULAR VALVE FOR MICROFLUIDIC CHIPS


Swapping delicate microscopic flow valves for a universal modular valve system has enabled A*STAR researchers to dramatically decrease the cost and complexity of microfluidic diagnostic chips — business card-sized devices that can analyse blood on the spot for a range of disease biomarkers. “Microfluidic chips are advancing point-


of-care diagnosis for many diseases,” says Alicia Toh from A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech). “Inside these chips, tiny microvalves precisely


48 A*STAR RESEARCH


direct microlitres of fluid through a series of microchannels for automated analysis. However, integrating microvalves into the microchannels is complex and highly suscep- tible to fabrication defects, which translates into a higher cost per device. In the medical diagnostic sector, the race is on to lower the cost per diagnosis by producing cheaper microfluidic diagnostic chips.” Toh and her colleagues Zhiping Wang


and Zhenfeng Wang addressed the problem by moving the microvalves off the main


microfluidic chip, and created a modular valve that is fitted to the surface of the chip after fabrication. The valves consist of a microfluidic channel that connects to surface ports on the chip, and an air chamber that allows the channel to be pinched by increasing the air pressure. The team demonstrated that their modular valves could precisely manipulate chemical concentra- tions through fluidic routing, which is critical in many advance diagnostic applications. “By mass producing these microvalve modules separate from the microfluidic


ISSUE 6 | JANUARY – MARCH 2017


© 2016 A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology


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