Low‐cost microfluidics: materials and methods

Microfluidics has been widely used in the biological, chemical and recently in the energy field. In the past decade, microfluidics has experienced tremendous growth in academia; researchers in various fields have been using microfluidics as a powerful tool for the enchantments of their research. However, the fabrication technologies of microfluidics are sourced from microelectromechanical systems and integrated circuit industry, which the fabrication process is costly and time‐consuming, with the need of highly sophisticated instruments and experienced technical personnel to conduct fabrication process in the cleanroom environment. To lower the technical barriers for microfluidics, more and more researchers in different fields have invented various low‐cost fabrication methods for microfluidics using polymers or paper materials. Comparing to the conventional microfabrication process conducted in the cleanroom, the low‐cost fabrication methods are more flexible, with significant reduction in material cost, fabrication cost and processing time. This review is trying to introduce the most recent developments in low‐cost microfluidics, from the aspects of materials, microfabrication and bonding technologies. The comparison and scope of application for different low‐cost fabrication technologies for microfluidics were also provided in this review.