Microporte

Microporte is a term used in microengineering to describe a micro-scale port or interface that enables controlled exchange of materials, energy, or information between a microfabricated device and its external environment. Although not universally standardized, the concept is applied across microfluidics, MEMS packaging, and nanoelectronic interconnects.

Design and variants: Microporte can take several forms, including microfluidic ports (inlets/outlets with integrated valves), nanopores for ionic transport, and electrical or optical ports for signal or energy transfer. Some implementations use pneumatic or electrostatic actuation to open or close the port.

Materials and fabrication: Common materials include silicon, glass, PDMS, and various polymers. Fabrication methods include soft lithography, deep reactive-ion etching, laser micromachining, and micro-molding; packaging is critical to ensure hermetic or leak-tight seals.

Applications: Lab-on-a-chip systems, point-of-care diagnostics, high-throughput screening, microreactors, neural interfaces, and chemical sensing.

Challenges and research directions: Minimization of dead volume and leakage; prevention of clogging; compatibility with biological samples; long-term reliability; integration with other microfabricated components; standardization of port geometries.

See also: microfluidics, MEMS, lab-on-a-chip, nanopore, microvalve.