Wedescribeanoveltechnique,lowsurfaceenergyGasExpansionMolding(GEM),tofabricatemicrobubblearraysinpolydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)whichareincorporatedintoparallelplateflowchambersandtestedincellsortingandmicrocellcultureapplications.Thisarchitectureconfersseveraloperationaladvantagesthatdistinguishthistechnologyapproachfromcurrentlyusedmethods.HereinwedescribetheGEMprocessandtheparametersthatareusedtocontrolmicrobubbleformationandaVacuum-AssistedCoating(VAC)processdevelopedtoselectivelyandspatiallyalterthePDMSsurfacechemistryinthewellsandonthemicrochannelsurface.WedescriberesultsfrommicroflowimagevisualizationstudiesconductedtoinvestigatefluidstreamsaboveandwithinmicrobubblewellsandconcludewithadiscussionofcellculturestudiesinPDMS.
