Hot embossing of plastic microfluidic devices using poly(dimethylsiloxane) molds

We present a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based hot embossing process for low-cost rapid prototyping of plastic microfluidic devices. Unlike the conventional hot embossing process, the process presented here uses a 2 mm thick PDMS mold, two 3/4" wide binder clips, two standard 1 mm thick 1" × 3" microscope glass slides and a standard laboratory oven. Micro-scale features were successfully replicated in 1.5 mm thick polystyrene slides from various PDMS molds. Also, the PDMS molds can be reused for many replications without any damage.