Studies on surface wettability of poly(dimethyl) siloxane (PDMS) and glass under oxygen-plasma treatment and correlation with bond strength

An issue in microfabrication of the fluidic channels in glass/poly (dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) is the absence of a well-defined study of the bonding strength between the surfaces making up these channels. Although most of the research papers mention the use of oxygen plasma for developing chemical (siloxane) bonds between the participating surfaces, yet they only define a certain set of parameters, tailored to a specific setup. An important requirement of all the microfluidics/biosensors industry is the development of a general regime, which defines a systematic method of gauging the bond strength between the participating surfaces in advance by correlation to a common parameter. This enhances the reliability…