Flock-based microfluidic devices with flow control, reagent integration and multiplexing for simple assays

Electroflocked microfibers provide a versatile material for self-driven microfluidic devices. We recently investigated laboratory-based methods for patterning microfluidic flowpaths in flocked materials and characterized capillary-driven flow along these flowpaths. Here, we use flocked devices that were fabricated using an industrial production process. We extend the concept of flock-based microfluidics by introducing ways to integrate and release reagents in flocked devices, by realizing stop-and-go flow with normally-closed valves and finally, by performing a multiplexed bioassay to detect glucose in artificial urine with positive and negative controls. Copyright © (2013) by the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society All rights reserved. All rights reserved.