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Using Stereolithographic Printing to Manufacture Monolithic Microfluidic Devices with an Extremely High Aspect Ratio.

ABSTRACT: Stereolithographic printing (SL) is widely used to create mini/microfluidic devices; however, the formation of microchannels smaller than 500 μm with good inner surface quality is still challenging due to the printing resolution of current commercial printers and the z-overcure error and scalloping phenomena. In the current study, we used SL printing to create microchannels with the aim of achieving a high degree of dimensional precision and a high-quality microchannel inner surface. Extensive experiments were performed and our results revealed the following: (1) the SL printing of microchannels can be implemented in three steps including channel layer printing, an oxygen inhibition process, and roof layer printing; (2) printing thickness should be reduced to minimize the scalloping phenomenon, which significantly improves dimensional accuracy and the quality of inner microchannel surfaces; (3) the inclusion of an oxygen inhibition step is a critical and efficient approach to suppressing the z-overcure error in order to eliminate the formation of in-channel obstructions; (4) microchannels with an extremely high aspect ratio of 40:1 (4000 μm in height and 100 μm in width) can be successfully manufactured within one hour by following the three-step printing process.

SUBMITTER: Chen PC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8587111 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Using Stereolithographic Printing to Manufacture Monolithic Microfluidic Devices with an Extremely High Aspect Ratio.

Chen Pin-Chuan PC Chen Po-Tsang PT Vo Tuan Ngoc Anh TNA

Polymers 20211029 21

Stereolithographic printing (SL) is widely used to create mini/microfluidic devices; however, the formation of microchannels smaller than 500 μm with good inner surface quality is still challenging due to the printing resolution of current commercial printers and the z-overcure error and scalloping phenomena. In the current study, we used SL printing to create microchannels with the aim of achieving a high degree of dimensional precision and a high-quality microchannel inner surface. Extensive e ...[more]

PMID: 34771305

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Project description:Inertial microfluidics has been broadly investigated, resulting in the development of various applications, mainly for particle or cell separation. Lateral migrations of these particles within a microchannel strictly depend on the channel design and its cross-section. Nonetheless, the fabrication of these microchannels is a continuous challenging issue for the microfluidic community, where the most studied channel cross-sections are limited to only rectangular and more recently trapezoidal microchannels. As a result, a huge amount of potential remains intact for other geometries with cross-sections difficult to fabricate with standard microfabrication techniques. In this study, by leveraging on benefits of additive manufacturing, we have proposed a new method for the fabrication of inertial microfluidic devices. In our proposed workflow, parts are first printed via a high-resolution DLP/SLA 3D printer and then bonded to a transparent PMMA sheet using a double-coated pressure-sensitive adhesive tape. Using this method, we have fabricated and tested a plethora of existing inertial microfluidic devices, whether in a single or multiplexed manner, such as straight, spiral, serpentine, curvilinear, and contraction-expansion arrays. Our characterizations using both particles and cells revealed that the produced chips could withstand a pressure up to 150?psi with minimum interference of the tape to the total functionality of the device and viability of cells. As a showcase of the versatility of our method, we have proposed a new spiral microchannel with right-angled triangular cross-section which is technically impossible to fabricate using the standard lithography. We are of the opinion that the method proposed in this study will open the door for more complex geometries with the bespoke passive internal flow. Furthermore, the proposed fabrication workflow can be adopted at the production level, enabling large-scale manufacturing of inertial microfluidic devices.

Dataset Information

Using Stereolithographic Printing to Manufacture Monolithic Microfluidic Devices with an Extremely High Aspect Ratio.

Publications

Using Stereolithographic Printing to Manufacture Monolithic Microfluidic Devices with an Extremely High Aspect Ratio.

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