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Shrinky-Dink microfluidics: rapid generation of deep and rounded patterns{

Anthony Grimes,a David N. Breslauer,b Maureen Long,a Jonathan Pegan,a Luke P. Leeb and
Michelle Khine*a
Received 31st July 2007, Accepted 2nd November 2007
First published as an Advance Article on the web 20th November 2007
DOI: 10.1039/b711622e

We present a rapid and non-photolithographic approach to microfluidic pattern generation by

leveraging the inherent shrinkage properties of biaxially oriented polystyrene thermoplastic
sheets. This novel approach yields channels deep enough for mammalian cell assays, with
demonstrated heights up to 80 mm. Moreover, we can consistently and easily achieve rounded
Published on 20 November 2007. Downloaded on 9/29/2023 3:22:38 AM.

channels, multi-height channels, and channels as thin as 65 mm in width. Finally, we demonstrate

the utility of this simple microfabrication approach by fabricating a functional gradient
generator. The whole process—from device design conception to working device—can be
completed within minutes.

Introduction printing, and contact lithography. Tan et al.3 obviated this

issue by direct printing; they photocopied designs onto
To address the need to create deep and rounded microfluidic transparencies to fabricate microfluidic channel molds that
channels without expensive and dedicated tooling, we intro- ranged in height from 8 to 14 mm, depending on the darkness
duce a novel method of printing microfluidic channel networks setting of the photocopy machine. Liu et al.4 developed a one-
onto commercially available thermoplastic ‘Shrinky-Dinks’ in step direct-printing technique for the design and fabrication of
a standard laser-jet printer. ‘Shrinky-Dinks’ is a children’s toy passive micromixers in microfluidic devices, with a maximum
onto which one can draw a picture and subsequently shrink it channel height of 11 mm. Such shallow channels are adequate
to a small fraction of its original size. We printed features onto for many microfluidic applications but not amenable for use
this thermoplastic, and found that after heating for 3–5 min at with large mammalian cells (.10 mm in diameter) as well as
163 uC, printed features shrink isotropically in plane by other applications, such as flowing chemotactic gradients
approximately 63% from the original printed line width and across adherent cells in a channel with minimal shearing.5
length. There is an additional corresponding increase in height While Lago et al.6 introduced a way to circumvent the
of the features by over 500%. We subsequently used these height limitation of single-layer ink by printing up to four
shrunken features as a rigid mold for soft lithography.1 The times using a thermal toner transfer method onto a glass
thermoplastic mold is thus analogous to the commonly-used substrate, the maximum height obtained with this approach
silicon wafer, which typically requires photolithographic was 25 mm. Vullev et al.7 demonstrated a non-lithographic
patterning, for microfluidic applications. Like its silicon wafer fabrication approach of microfluidic devices by printing
counterpart, these plastic molds can be reused numerous times. positive-relief masters with a laser-jet printer for detecting
Unlike the expensive setup and laborious processing required bacterial spores; the height of the channels, which is likewise
to make the silicon wafers, this approach only requires a laser- dependent on the height of the ink, is limited to between 5 and
jet printer and a toaster oven, and can be completed within 9 mm. To achieve deep channels, McDonald et al.8 introduced
minutes. Moreover, we can achieve multi-height designs within the use of solid object printing (SOP) to make PDMS molds in
the device, which typically requires a laborious and iterative thermoplastics. However, despite their versatility, solid object
process using standard lithographic approaches. printers are considerably costly ($50 000.)
Other novel methods have been developed as lower-cost Furthermore, the majority of these methods (as well as
alternatives to photolithography, the ‘gold standard’ for conventional photolithography) produce rectangular cross
microfabrication and microfluidic device creation. Duffy section channels. Pneumatic valves, first introduced by
et al.2 first introduced ‘rapid prototyping of masters’ whereby Quake and co-workers,9 important for many microfluidic
they used printed transparencies to replace the expensive applications, require microfluidic channels to be rounded
chrome masks traditionally utilized in photolithography. The such that they can be completely sealed upon valve closure.
authors demonstrated the advantages of using rapid proto- Achieving rounded microfluidic channels using typical photo-
typing for masks over conventional photolithography and lithographic techniques, however, is complicated and requires
micromachining. Despite its convenience, the method still an extra re-flow step of the photoresist at high temperatures.
requires the use of expensive photoresist, high-resolution Most recently, Chao et al.10 demonstrated an elegant rapid
prototyping approach, coined microscale plasma templating
a
School of Engineering, University of California, Merced, USA. (mPLAT), using water molds. This technique enables the
E-mail: [email protected]
b creation of rounded channels that are difficult to make with
Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, USA
{ The HTML version of this article has been enhanced with colour photolithography, but still requires micromachined masks and
images. plasma activation.

170 | Lab Chip, 2008, 8, 170–172 This journal is ß The Royal Society of Chemistry 2008
Published on 20 November 2007. Downloaded on 9/29/2023 3:22:38 AM. View Article Online

Fig. 1 Shrinky Dinks mold generation: (A) Unshrunken Shrinky Dink master with laser printed master pattern. (B) The same master after being
baked. Masters shrink from 800 to 300 mm in width. The original height of the ink (as measured on transparencies instead of unshrunk
thermoplastic because the thermoplastic heats up and shrinks when prepared for the SEM) was approximately 10 mm but was difficult to
measure precisely on the SEM (see Fig. 3(b)). Insets: SEM of channel top view and cross-section through a shrunken channel, illustrating a height
of 80 mm. Heights varied depending on the printer used. For this 80 mm channel, we double printed with transparency mode on the Hewlett-
Packard LaserJet 2200D.

In this Note, we present a simple method to fabricate re-flatten after complete shrinking. A post-bake of 7 min in the
microfluidic channel molds that are inherently rounded. We oven after shrinkage greatly smooths the ink features, and
demonstrate the ability to create molds by printing at a larger helps maintain ink adhesion. We have molded devices over ten
scale and then shrinking down more than 60% by leveraging times with the same Shrinky-Dink without any noticeable
the inherent property of thermoplastics. deterioration in the mold.
The PDMS is poured onto the mold as in typical soft
Experimental lithography, and cured at 110 uC for 10 min. The cured PDMS
device is then peeled off the mold and bonded using a hand-
Microfluidic channels are first designed in AutoCad 2002 held corona discharger.11 The whole process from device
(AutoDesk, San Rafael, CA). Using a Hewlett-Packard design conception to working device can be completed within
LaserJet 2200D, designs are printed onto the polystyrene minutes (Fig. 2).
thermoplastic sheets (Shrinky Dinks, K &B Innovations,
North Lake, WI) that resemble transparencies. These sheets
can be fed through the printer several times for additional
height and/or multi-height channels. The 80 mm channel shown
in Fig. 1 was double printed using the LaserJet 2200D at
600 dpi. Printers were set to either 600 or 1200 dpi. Counter-
intuitively, at 600 dpi, smoother feature edges were achieved,
at the expense of channel height. The transparency setting was
used for the printer. For multi-layered printing, alignment was
ensured by adjusting the printer paper tray such that it tightly
fit the Shrinky-Dinks. Various printers were tried, including
a HP Color LaserJet 2600n and a Samsung ML-2510. The
primary difference between the various printers was a slight
variation in ink height.
The printed sheet is placed in an oven for 3–5 min at 163 uC
(Fig. 1). We tried both a standard toaster oven as well as a
laboratory-grade oven. Whereas slight warping can result from
the toaster oven, heating in the pre-heated lab oven resulted in
more uniform heating. The devices were heated on a glass
Fig. 2 Process flow: (A) The master pattern is produced using CAD
microscope slide for even more uniform and flat baking. We
software and printed directly onto the Shrinky Dink. After baking, the
found that the slides should not be pre-heated or they will melt pattern shrinks by 62.5%. (B) PDMS is poured over the master. (C)
the plastic. After curing, the PDMS is peeled off, containing a negative copy of the
The Shrink-Dinks naturally curl while shrinking. Uniform master pattern. (D) The molded PDMS is bonded to a glass slide to
heat on a flat surface will ensure that the Shrinkies will form microchannels and the finished microdevice.

This journal is ß The Royal Society of Chemistry 2008 Lab Chip, 2008, 8, 170–172 | 171
 View Article Online

demonstrate the ability to easily flow mammalian (Chinese

Hamster Ovary, CHO) cells through such deep channels
(Fig. 4(b)).
The minimum line width we were able to achieve was 65 mm
(as verified by SEM, data not shown). This is a function of the
printer and we believe higher resolutions are achievable with
more advanced printers. Finally, we can achieve multiple
feature heights by re-printing only some of the channels. This
is accomplished by feeding the printed sheet back through the
Fig. 3 Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of channels made from printer to selectively double-print certain patterns. In this way,
our approach (A) compared to those made using transparencies (B): (A) interconnecting channels of different heights or weirs can be
Perspective SEM of channel made using Shrinky-Dink mold vs. (B) easily molded.
transparency. The difference in height and shape is apparent.
Acknowledgements
Published on 20 November 2007. Downloaded on 9/29/2023 3:22:38 AM.

We gratefully acknowledge the National Science Foundation

(NSF) Center for Integrated Nanomechanical Systems
(COINS) for support of students. We would also like to also
thank Mike Dunlap and the UC Merced Imaging and
Microscopy Center (IMF).

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172 | Lab Chip, 2008, 8, 170–172 This journal is ß The Royal Society of Chemistry 2008