Novel interconnection for micro fluidic devices

We developed a simple and effective coupling method "silicone rubber coupling" for interconnecting modular micro fluidic devices such as "Biochemical IC Family" proposed by Ikuta [1] [2]. The silicone rubber coupling method utilizes thin silicone rubber films and the holder unit. The biochemical IC chips are stacked up into the holder unit. And reusable thin silicone rubber films formed by a polymer mold are sandwiched between the IC chips. This simple interconnection provided a good seal under high pressure (>400 kPa). Moreover, the experiments of this method showed that the maximum proof pressure increases while the thickness of the silicone rubber gets thin, differing from general sealing technology "O-ring". Therefore, this connection part between the biochemical IC chips containing multiple micro fluidic devices can minimize a dead volume. The silicone rubber coupling method is useful not only for the biochemical IC chips but also the other micro fluidic devices.