DIELECTRIC AND HYDROPHOBIC COATING OPTIMIZATION OF DIGITAL MICROFLUIDIC PLATFORM CARTRIDGE FOR DROPLET SAMPLE PROCESSING

• Main Author: Domenico Tantiyo, Kevin
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/74632
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Digital microfluidic is a liquid handling platform that can perform various operations on small liquids from µL to pL. Operations on liquids that can be performed are combining, mixing, dividing, and moving. To be able to perform these various operations, there are several factors that can influence these operations such as electrode material, electrode size, electrode design, droplet volume, material type and thickness of dielectric and hydrophobic layer, and operating voltage. Determination of these factors must also pay attention to several aspects that will make it easier for users to use microfluidic digital devices on a daily basis. Some of these aspects such as material availability, reproducibility, surface homogeneity, ease of fabrication, and the ability to operate at the lowest operating voltage. In this final project, testing of some of these factors is carried out, including operating voltage, electrode size, electrode design, droplet volume, and the type of material used. In this test the operating voltage will be measured at a voltage between 0 V to 390 V. There are 3 sizes of electrodes to be tested, namely small, medium and large sizes, besides that there are also 3 designs of electrodes to be tested, namely normal design, rectangular-crenellated design, and triangular-crenellated design. In this experiment, the droplet volume ranged from 12.5 µL to 200 µL, and there were 4 types of material to be tested namely, ETFE, FEP, PE, and Parafilm M. Based on the tests that have been carried out, the most optimal option for use in digital microfluidic platform cartridges is the ETFE coating with a rectangular-crenellated pad design and droplet volume that is proportional to the area of the pad used while still prioritizing the use of the smallest pad size to obtain maximum speed performance.