The Primary Study for the Integration of Wax-Based Microfluidics on Textile Product

Abstract

This study proposed a novel method for the integration of microfluidic devices on the textile product for the potential applications in wearable sensing and monitoring of human health status. The proposed wearable microfluidic devices enables the controlled fluid flow inside the fiber structure with the capillary force in micro-scale. The structure of microfluidic devices were printed on the surface of a textile product using a commercial wax printer, after thermal treatment, the wax meltdown and permeate through the whole thickness of the textile fiber structure. The hydrophilic textile fiber with hydrophobic wax defined barrier formed a wearable microfluidic device integrated on the textile product. With the proposed protocol, the microfluidics devices could be easily integrated with textile product with a board adaptability with various types of fibers. This primary study for the integration protocols of microfluidics with textile product may have wide potential applications in wearable technology for continues health monitoring and treatment applications.