Effect of Surface Modification on Thermoplastic Fusion Bonding for 3-D Microfluidics

In this work we have characterized the effect of surface modification, using plasma treatment, on the bond strength of thermoplastic fusion bonding. We have investigated the effect of hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface treatments, for COC (cyclic olefin copolymers), on the bond strength and we show that the hydrophilic surface treatment increases the bond strength whereas; hydrophobic surface treatment significantly lowers the bond strength. The results of this work are of immediate relevance to plastic micromachining techniques for biochip applications and point-of-care systems.