Chitosan as material for the elaboration of lab-on-a-chip

Currently, the fabrication of lab-on-a-chip is dependent on polymers derived from the petrochemical industry, such as PDMS or thermoplastics. To meet the ongoing environmental challenges, we aim to introduce a bio-sourced and biodegradable polymer in the lab-on-a-chip manufacturing process. In this work, we demonstrate the feasibility of producing a microfluidic system from chitosan. Chitosan has been film deposited and neutralized to prevent its dissolution in water and limit its swelling before being micro-structured by micro-drilling. Channels from $100 \mu \mathrm{m}$ to $1000 \mu \mathrm{m}$ wide have been obtained. The microfluidic system was finalized by bonding the micro-structured chitosan surface to a glass slide to allow the injection of aqueous solutions in the channels.