Methodology on scaling-down of membrane separation process into microfluidic platform

Abstract

The use of membrane separation techniques in microfluidic devices has been gaining interest in many research field particularly in analytical chemistry where such a device is utilised to selectively remove impurities and/or unwanted components for a better detection of analyte of interest. Many different strategies have been reported to combine membranes and microfluidics. In this paper, details on how to fabricate such a micro scale filtration device are discussed. Topics covered include size and operation mode, materials and fabrication methods, strategy to integrate membrane on chip, fluidics (and electrical) interconnects, online measurement and process automation. Each design parameters were reviewed and discussed in accordance to the steps (or methodology) needed to fabricate a microfluidic membrane filtration unit. A low cost fabrication solution using polymers as materials for fabrication and the use of Arduino board for process automation have been suggested to realise a fully automated microfluidic membrane filtration unit.