Plastic Lab-on-Chip for the Optical Manipulation of Single Cells

Lab-on-chips (LoCs) are microsystems capable of manipulating small amounts of fluids in microfluidic channels. They have a huge application potential, from basic science to chemical synthesis and point-of-care medical analysis. Polymers are rapidly emerging as the substrate of choice for LoC production, thanks to a low material cost and ease of processing. Two breakthroughs that could promote LoC diffusion are a microfabrication technology with cost-effective and rapid prototyping capabilities and also an integrated on-chip optical detection system. This chapter proposes the use of femtosecond laser micromachining combined with microinjection moulding as a novel highly-flexible microfabrication platform for polymeric LoCs with integrated optical detection, for the realization of low-cost and truly portable biophotonic microsystems. We demonstrate a LoC for the relevant application of non-invasive and contactless mechanical phenotyping of single cancer cells.