Reconfigurable Microfluidics in a Rubik's Cube

A Rubik's cube as a reconfigurable microfluidic system is presented in this work. Composed of physically interlocking microfluidic blocks, the microfluidic cube enables on-site design and configuration of custom microfluidics by means of turning the faces of the cube. The reconfiguration of the microfluidics could be done in the way of solving an ordinary Rubik's cube, with the help of Rubik's algorithms and computer programs. An O-ring aided strategy is used to enable self-sealing and automatic alignment of the microfluidic cube blocks. The proposed cube exhibits good reconfigurability and robustness in versatile microfluidic applications and is proved to be a promising candidate for setting up microfluidic platforms in resource-limited settings.