Gaillard William R, Waddell Emanuel, Williams John D
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA.
Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA.
Micromachines (Basel). 2016 Feb 23;7(3):34. doi: 10.3390/mi7030034.
Surface free energy (SFE) plays an important role in microfluidic device operation. Photosensitive glasses such as APEX offer numerous advantages over traditional glasses for microfluidics, yet the SFE for APEX has not been previously reported. We calculate SFE with the Owens/Wendt geometric method by using contact angles measured with the Sessile drop technique. While the total SFE for APEX is found to be similar to traditional microstructurable glasses, the polar component is lower, which is likely attributable to composition. The SFE was modified at each stage of device fabrication, but the SFE of the stock and fully processed glass was found to be approximately the same at a value of 51 mJ·m. APEX exhibited inconsistent wetting behavior attributable to an inhomogeneous surface chemical composition. Means to produce more consistent wetting of photosensitive glass for microfluidic applications are discussed.
表面自由能（SFE）在微流控设备运行中起着重要作用。诸如APEX之类的光敏玻璃在微流控方面比传统玻璃具有许多优势，但此前尚未报道过APEX的表面自由能。我们使用静滴技术测量的接触角，通过欧文斯/温特几何方法计算表面自由能。虽然发现APEX的总表面自由能与传统的可微结构化玻璃相似，但其极性成分较低，这可能归因于其成分。在器件制造的每个阶段表面自由能都有所改变，但发现原料玻璃和完全加工后的玻璃的表面自由能大致相同，为51 mJ·m 。APEX表现出不一致的润湿行为，这归因于表面化学成分不均匀。本文讨论了使光敏玻璃在微流控应用中实现更一致润湿的方法。
