Analytical Sciences

Fabrication of Hydrophobic Nanostructured Surfaces for Microfluidic Control

Kyojiro MORIKAWA and Takehiko TSUKAHARA

Research Laboratory for Nuclear Reactors, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-N1-6 O-Okayama, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan

In the field of micro- and nanofluidics, various kinds of novel devices have been developed. For such devices, not only fluidic control but also surface control of micro/nano channels is essential. Recently, fluidic control by hydrophobic nanostructured surfaces have attracted much attention. However, conventional fabrication methods of nanostructures require complicated steps, and integration of the nanostructures into micro/nano channels makes fabrication procedures even more difficult and complicated. In the present study, a simple and easy fabrication method of nanostructures integrated into microchannels was developed. Various sizes of nanostructures were successfully fabricated by changing the plasma etching time and etching with a basic solution. Furthermore, it proved possible to construct highly hydrophobic nanostructured surfaces that could effectively control the fluid in microchannels at designed pressures. We believe that the fabrication method developed here and the results obtained are valuable contributions towards further applications in the field of micro- and nanofluidics.

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