Characteristics and fluidic properties of porous monoliths prepared by radiation-induced polymerization for Lab-on-a-Chip applications

Porous polymer monoliths were prepared by UV- or EB-induced polymerization of hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) as network precursors dissolved in porogenic solvent mixtures composed of methanol and n-hexane. The fluidic properties and the pressure resistance of porous monoliths synthesized into 1 mm i.d. capillaries and in 100 μm-wide microchannels were investigated. The influence of photopolymerization time (or electron beam dose) and monomer content on flow properties is discussed on the basis of morphological features. The two types of radiation can be used to achieve the in situ fabrication of monolith inside microsystems. The permeability of the porous monoliths can be adjusted by tuning compositional and processing parameters.