An instrument-free, screen-printed paper microfluidic device that enables bio and chemical sensing

This paper describes a simple and instrument-free screen-printing method to fabricate hydrophilic channels by patterning polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) onto chromatography paper. Clearly recognizable border lines were formed between hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas. The minimum width of the printed channel to deliver an aqueous sample was 600 μm, as obtained by this method. Fabricated microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) were tested for several colorimetric assays of pH, glucose, and protein in both buffer and artificial urine samples and results were obtained in less than 30 min. The limits of detection (LODs) for glucose and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were 5 mM and 8 μM, respectively. Furthermore, the pH values of different solutions were visually recognised with the naked eye by using a sensitive ink. Ultimately, it is expected that this PDMS-screen-printing (PSP) methodology for μPADs can be readily translated to other colorimetric detection and hydrophilic channels surrounded by a hydrophobic polymer can be formed to transport fluids toward target zones.