A novel strategy for the integration of PDMS membranes into thermoplastic microfluidic packages

The paper describes a novel processing method for the integration of elastomeric PDMS membranes into thermoplastic microfluidic packages via the following process; (1) bonding sheet PDMS to an unstructured sheet or bulk thermoplastic polymer to form a composite material, (2) microstructuring the composite material to produce microfluidic channels, structures and reservoirs, and (3) utilizing pretreatment such as plasma, corona or UV/ozone to bond a PDMS membrane to the PDMS surface layer of the structured composite material.