Development of Micromachined Parylene-Based Electroactive Membranes with Embedded Microfluidic Channels For Biological Applications

This work presents the development and characterization of novel micromachined Parylene-based electroactive membranes (µPEMs) with embedded microfluidic channels. We developed a fabrication protocol to form MEMS-based electrostatic actuators membranes over a bulk micromachined cavity, with microshell microfluidic architectures defined on top of the actuator. Actuation of the devices demonstrated reliability with minimal voltage shifts (<6% variance). Furthermore, dynamic measurements observing membrane deflection were obtained via optical coherence tomography (OCT) techniques. The platform's biocompatibility makes it ideal for microfluidic applications such as promoting fluid circulation and as a mechanical actuation device to stimulate strain sensitive cells cultured within the microsystem.