Candyfluidics: the art of fabricating micro- and nano-fluidic geometries using surface-deposited sugar scaffolds
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Published online version
Author(s)
Anyaduba, Tochukwu Dubem
Rodriguez-Manzano, Jesus
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We present Candyfluidics, a rapid and low-cost method for fabricating micro- and nanofluidic devices using sugar mixtures patterned by screen-printing. The process (from screen preparation to PDMS casting) takes less than 30 minutes, supports parallel production of multiple chips, and exploits household materials and simple technology widely available in low-resource regions. As a proof of concept, we fabricated flow-focusing chips and validated them by generating pressure-driven water-in-oil droplets with volumes from 0.2 to 1.22 nL. We further demonstrated the utility of the fabricated chips by performing digital droplet loop-mediated isothermal amplification to detect dengue virus type 1 nucleic acids at femtomolar concentrations (85 copies per μL). By lowering the cost and technical barriers to device prototyping, Candyfluidics offers an accessible approach to microfluidic manufacturing with potential for point-of-need applications for global health interventions.
Date Issued
2025-09-16
Date Acceptance
2025-09-16
Citation
Lab on a Chip, 2025
ISSN
1473-0197
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
Journal / Book Title
Lab on a Chip
Copyright Statement
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2025 Open Access Article This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/41003585
Publication Status
Published online
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2025-09-16