Rapid prototyping of microstructures with bell-shaped cross-sections and its application to deformation-based microfluidic valves

A rapid prototyping method to fabricate microchannels with bell-shaped cross-sections was investigated using backside diffused-light exposure. It was found that these profiles could be used as compressive, deformation-based microfluidic valves. It was observed that the bell-shaped microchannels, when used as deformation-based microfluidic valves, showed improved self-sealing upon compression. It was also observed that the bell-shaped channels maximized the cross-sectional area within microfluidic channels without compromising the ability to completely close channels upon deformation.