Method of manufacturing microfluidic chip and a microfluidic chip made thereby

A method of manufacturing a microfluidic chip comprising:

• providing a metal mold assembly which includes an upper mold and a lower mold, the upper mold having an array of upper ribs extending toward the lower mold and an array of upper trenches, each of the upper trenches being defined by two adjacent ones of the upper ribs, the lower mold having an array of lower ribs extending toward the upper mold and an array of lower trenches, each of the lower trenches being defined by two adjacent ones of the lower ribs, the upper ribs being spaced apart along a first direction and extending along a second direction different from the first direction, the lower ribs being spaced apart along the second direction, extending along the first direction and intersecting the upper ribs at a plurality of intersections, a lower end of the upper ribs and an upper end of the lower ribs cooperatively defining a plurality of gaps that are respectively located at the intersections, the upper trenches, the lower trenches and the gaps being spatially interconnected and cooperatively defining a filling space;
• forming a forming material in the filling space to provide a channeled plate having an array of upper microfluidic channels that is complementary in shape to the array of the upper ribs of the upper mold, an array of lower microfluidic channels that is complementary in shape to the array of the lower ribs of the lower mold, and an array of thin film valves, the thin film valves being complementary in shape to the gaps;
• separating the upper and lower molds from the channeled plate;
• and
• covering the array of the lower microfluidic channels and the array of the upper microfluidic channels.