Natural shellac for green microfluidic applications

We hereby introduce the biomaterial shellac as a new player in the field of sustainable microfluidics. We demonstrate a fully “green” technological process for wafer-level fabrication of microstructures by means of shellac hot embossing. The process is labeled as “green” because it can be carried out completely outside the cleanroom, it is fast, cheap, energy saving, and uses natural and exclusively non-toxic materials. Moreover, the end products are biodegradable, opening new perspectives for disposable point-of-care (POC) devices. The implementation capability is demonstrated through successful fabrication of basic building blocks such as pillars, channels, mixers and reservoirs. Process parameters, limitations and challenges are clearly defined.