Table 2.

Significant characteristics of the most common materials used for biomedical applications. Adapted from [51].

Characteristics	Silicon	Glass	Thermoplastics	Elastomers (PDMS)
Protein crystallization	Poor	Poor	Good	Moderate
Droplet formation	Excellent	Excellent	Good	Moderate
Porosity	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Moderate
Permeability	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Good
Bio-culture	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good
Reusability	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Disposable device use	Expensive	Expensive	Good	Good