Capillary microfluidic chip with integrated pump and valve actuator

This paper describes the technological developments to achieve an active, disposable, microfluidic lab-on-a-chip intended to be used for the detection of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). The system utilizes well known technologies like hot embossing, physical vapor deposition (PVD) and laser micro structuring to realize an innovative chip concept. The complex parameter HbA1c [1] is supposed to be determined from a drop of capillary blood (5ml) after a chip internal sample preparation step. The presented work focuses on integrated liquid actuation as well as structuring and assembling technologies to develop a miniaturized chip for a large-scale production.