Rapid prototyping of microchannels with surface patterns for fabrication of polymer fibers

Abstract

Microfluidic technology has provided innovative solutions to numerous problems, but the cost of designing and fabricating microfluidic channels is impeding its expansion. In this work, ShrinkyDink thermoplastic sheets are used to create multilayered complex templates for microfluidic channels. We used inkjet and laserjet printers to raise a predetermined microchannel geometry by depositing several layers of ink for each feature consecutively. We achieved feature heights over 100 µm, which were measured and compared with surface profilometry. Templates closest to the target geometry were then used to create microfluidic devices from soft-lithography with the molds as a template. These microfluidic devices were in turn used to fabricate polymer microfibers using the microfluidic focusing approach to demonstrate the potential that this process has for microfluidic applications. Finally, an economic analysis was conducted to compare the price of common microfluidic template manufacturing methods. We showed that multilayer microchannels can be created significantly quicker and cheaper than current methods for design prototyping and point-of-care applications in the biomedical area.

3D Microfibrous Scaffolds Selectively Promotes Proliferation and Glial Differentiation of Adult Neural Stem Cells: A Platform to Tune Cellular Behavior in Neural Tissue Engineering

“…Biosci. 2019, 19,1800236 with concentrations of 2 and 5 w/v% in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE; Oakwood Chemical, West Columbia, SC). For example, in order to make 5 w/v% PCL, 2 g of PCL were dissolved in 40 mL TFE at room temperature.…”

“…Recently, microfluidic platforms have shown promise to a wide range of applications from biomedical to energy areas . Microfluidic fiber fabrication is versatile, straightforward, cost‐effective, and biocompatible.…”

“…[11][12][13] Recently, microfluidic platforms have shown promise to a wide range of applications from biomedical to energy areas. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Microfluidic fiber fabrication is versatile, straightforward, cost-effective, and biocompatible. Furthermore, this approach does not require high temperature, pressure, and voltage to fabricate fibers as is necessary for conventional methods.…”

Design and Analysis of Fused Deposition Modeling 3D Printer Nozzle for Color Mixing

“…This is a work of making three-dimensional solid objects from digital files [1][2][3][4][5]. Therefore, an increasing number of people consider that the future of 3D printing will usher in the next industrial revolution [6][7][8][9][10].…”

Aligning carbon nanofibers in PCL microfibers using microfluidic method: An approach to efficiently improve electrical conductivity and mechanical strength

“…As a fast-developing manufacturing technique, 3D printing has also been demonstrated to be able to create microfluidic device [63]. However, the precision and resolution of 3D printing still restrict its application in the area of microfluidic device manufacturing [64]. [66].…”