Study of the Interaction Between Different Parameters in the Fabrication of Paper-Based Microfluidic Devices Using the Wax Printing Method

Paper-based microfluidic devices are an affordable, disposable, and user-friendly platform that has attracted much attention among researchers from different fields. Wax printing is the most widely exploited approach for the fabrication of paper-based microfluidic devices due to its simplicity and affordability as well as its ability in the fast production of paper-based microfluidic devices. The success of this technique in generating a reliable microfluidic device without leakage depends on the interaction of three key factors: the thickness of the designed microchannel barrier, the oven temperature, and the time of placing the printed filter paper in the oven. Usually, researchers exploit an excessively thick microchannel barrier, a very hot temperature of the oven, and a long time to place the printed paper in the oven, which clearly leads to a waste of wax, energy, and time, respectively. In this manuscript, the interaction between the three abovementioned factors is quantitatively and experimentally investigated to determine the sufficient and necessary amounts of them to fabricate a leakage-free paper-based device. The findings of this study could assist active researchers in this field to manage their limited and valuable wax, energy, and time resources to fabricate a truly inexpensive paper-based microfluidic device without leakage.