Electroosmotic properties of microfluidic channels composed of poly(dimethylsiloxane)

Microfluidic devices fabricated from polymers exhibit great potential in biological analyses. Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) has shown promise as a substrate for rapid prototyping of devices. Despite this, disagreement exists in the literature as to the ability of PDMS to support electroosmotic (EO) flow and the stability of that flow over time. We demonstrate that in low ionic strength solutions near neutral in pH, oxidized PDMS had a four-fold greater EO mobility (μeo) compared to native PDMS. The greater μeo was maintained irrespective of whether glass or PDMS was used as a support forming one side of the channel. This enhanced μeo was preserved as long as the channels were filled with an aqueous solution. Upon exposure of the channels to air, the mobility decreased by a factor of two with a half-life of 9 h. The EO properties of the air-exposed, oxidized PDMS were regenerated by exposure to strong base. High ionic strength, neutral in pH buffers compatible with living eukaryotic cells diminished the EO flow in the oxidized PDMS devices to a much greater extent than in the native PDMS devices. For analyses utilizing intact and living cells, oxidation of PDMS may not be an effective strategy to substantially increase the μeo.