Toward Fabric-Based Flexible Microfluidic Devices: Pointed Surface Modification for pH Sensitive Liquid Transport

Microfluidic fiber channels with switchable water transport are fabricated in flexible textile PET/PP materials using a preprogrammed yarn-based fabric and a yarn-selective surface modification method. The developed robust and scalable fabrication method is based on the selective functionalization of the PET yarns with an epoxide-containing polymer that is then followed by grafting patterns of different pH-sensitive polymers PAA [poly(acrylic acid) ] and P2VP [poly(2-vinyl pyridine)]. The selective functionalization of the fabric yields an array of amphiphilic channels that are constrained by hydrophobic PP boundaries. Aqueous solutions are transported in the amphiphilic channels by capillary forces where the direction of the liquid transport is defined by pH-response of the grafted polymers. The channels are fed with liquid through hydrophilic, pH insensitive PEG [polyethylene glycol] ports. The combination of the PAA and P2VP patterns in the amphiphilic channels is used to create pH-sensitive elements that redirect aqueous liquids toward PAA channels at pH > 4 and toward both PAA and P2VP channels at pH < 4. The system of pH-selective channels in the developed textile based microfluidic chip could find analytical applications and can be used for smart cloth.