MicruX has large experience in the use of several technologies for the production and use of microfluidic and electrochemical devices:

1. » Capillary electrophoresis
2. » Photolithography
3. » Wet etching
4. » Thermal bonding
5. » Electrochemistry

 

Capillary electrophoresis is a technique used to separate ionic species with different migration times. It can be done due to the different charge to mass ratio of these species in a conductive liquid medium under the influence of an electric field [+].

This separation technique is used to separate small organic and inorganic ions, and biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids ( RNA and DNA).

Photolithography is a process used in microfabrication to selectively remove parts of a thin film (or the bulk of a substrate). It uses light to transfer a pattern from a photomask to a light-sensitive chemical on the substrate. These wafers are made on different materials: glass, silicon, quartz, polymers and also metals.

Photolithography (also known as "microlitography" or "nanolithography") works similarly to traditional lithography used in printing jobs. It also shares some fundamental principles with photography [+].

Wet etching is used in microfabrication to chemically remove layers from the surface of a wafer during manufacturing. The selection of the solution employed for this process is critically important. [+].

When glass substrates are used, hydrofluoric acid is the solution employed to remove the selected parts of the wafer.

This process is used to bond two surfaces, usually the same material, by applying pressure and temperature close to glass transition temperature (Tg) of the material [+].

Electrochemical technique fundaments are the oxidation and reduction reactions (electron transfer reactions) which take place over an electrode surface [+].

Electrochemical detection systems show several important features such as selectivity, sensitivity, low cost, portability and compatibility with the microfabrication techniques previously mentioned.

These systems have been widely used in micro- and nanotechnology.