company news about Key to next-generation microfluidics and optics: UV curing technology empowers cyclic olefin polymers (COC/COP)

Cyclic olefin copolymers (COCs) and cyclic olefin polymers (COPs) have become the preferred materials for microfluidic chips, diagnostic kits, and high-performance optical components due to their excellent optical transparency, low autofluorescence, and outstanding bioinertness. This article will delve into UV curing technology, particularly UV LED curing, and how rapid, low-temperature, and high-precision bonding and coating processes have significantly advanced the application of COC/COPs in the biomedical and electro-optical fields.

COC/COP is a class of amorphous thermoplastics whose structure and properties set it apart from traditional polymers:

• Superior optical properties: Near-glass transparency and extremely low birefringence make it ideal for manufacturing high-precision lenses and optical components.
• Excellent bioinertness: Extremely low solubility and absorption, and low autofluorescence ensure reliability in in vitro diagnostics (IVD) and drug storage, making it particularly suitable for sensitive microfluidic environments.
• Excellent dimensional stability: Low hygroscopicity ensures dimensional accuracy and long-term stability of devices under various environmental conditions.
• Good processability: Suitable for injection molding, enabling large-scale, high-precision, and low-cost production.

Traditional COC/COP processing, such as thermoforming, requires high temperatures and pressures, which can lead to substrate deformation or damage to microstructures. UV curing technology, with its non-contact, low-temperature, and rapid advantages, perfectly solves these challenges.

In the fabrication of microfluidic chips, a COC/COP substrate etched with microchannels needs to be precisely and seamlessly bonded to a cover plate.

UV-curable coatings are used to impart additional functionality to COC/COP devices without affecting their core performance.

• Scratch-resistant coating: Provides a high-hardness UV-curable coating for COC/COP optics (such as mobile phone camera lenses and display protective layers), improving durability.
• Biocompatibility modification: Uses UV light-induced surface grafting polymerization to alter the chemical properties of the inner walls of microfluidic channels, achieving functions such as resistance to protein adsorption or easy fluid movement (hydrophilic/hydrophobic).

While COC/COP itself is not a mainstream photosensitive resin, UV curing technology plays a crucial role in hybrid materials or auxiliary structures. Using UV LEDs as a light source enables rapid positioning and assisted curing of microstructures or components, especially when assembling prefabricated COC/COP structures with photosensitive resins.

UV LED curing systems are ideal for COC/COP applications due to their advantages:

• Low-temperature curing: LED light sources generate minimal infrared heat, effectively avoiding deformation and stress in heat-sensitive materials like COC/COP.
• Wavelength matching: The optimal absorption wavelength of a specific UV adhesive (e.g., 365 nm or 395 nm) can be selectively matched to achieve the highest curing efficiency and depth.
• Environmental friendliness and economy: UV LEDs are mercury-free, energy-efficient, and meet the high standards of cleanliness and sustainability required in biomedical manufacturing.

With the development of point-of-care testing (POC) diagnostics, high-throughput screening, and flexible electronics, the demand for high-performance polymers like COC/COP will continue to grow. UV curing technology, with its unique precision, speed, and low-temperature characteristics, has become a core enabling technology for COC/COP materials to move from conceptual design to large-scale commercial production. In the future, we anticipate the emergence of more intelligent UV curing systems and UV adhesives with lower shrinkage rates, further expanding the application boundaries of COC/COP.