Flexible Microfluidic Devices With Three-Dimensional Interconnected Microporous Walls

Microfluidics is emerging as one of the fastest growing fields for chemical and biological applications. The demand has also increased for methods of fabricating low-cost prototype microfluidic devices rapidly with compatible materials and novel functional attributes. One attractive feature that can be incorporated into microfluidic devices is a porous membrane or porous channel wall [1]. Devices with such features can potentially be used for multiphase catalytic reactions in chemical and pharmaceutical applications similar to the gas-liquid-solid hydrogenation reactions reported by Kobayahi et al. [2] or gas-liquid syntheses by Park and Kim [3].