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Glass reflow on 3-dimensional micro-apertures for electrophysiological measurements on-chip

Lehnert, T. ; Nguyen, D. ; Baldi, L. ; Gijs, M.

In: Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, 2007, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 109-117

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    Titre
    • Glass reflow on 3-dimensional micro-apertures for electrophysiological measurements on-chip
    Auteur
    • Lehnert, T.. Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Nguyen, D.. Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Baldi, L.. Integrative Bioscience Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Gijs, M.. Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    Type de document
    • Postprint
    Langue
    • Inglese
    Publié dans
    • Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, 2007, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 109-117. Springer-Verlag
    Autre version électronique
    Identifiant OAI-PMH
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:314162
    Summary
    We propose a new method to fabricate micro-apertures for on-chip electrophysiological measurements of living cells. Thermal reflow of phosphosilicate glass (PSG) is applied to funnel- or nozzle-type microstructures to generate very smooth surfaces on the finalized chip. Such 3-dimensional microstructures show close similarities to fire-polished glass pipette tips. Immobilized cells fit perfectly to these structures offering a large contact area for sealing between the cell membrane and the oxide surface. A tight cell/chip-aperture seal is an important requirement for the present application. We demonstrate the formation of stable gigaseals with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells for both types of microstructures without the need of any post-fabrication surface treatment. By adjusting the PSG reflow parameters, the shape of the apertures can be modified and diameters down to the sub-micrometer range may be achieved. The application of PSG reflow to MEMS fabrication is an interesting new option to create unconventional microstructures