3D printing

3D printing

Various 3D-printing techniques. (A) Stereolithography (SL); (B)

multi jet modeling (MJM); (C) fused deposition modeling (FDM), also
termed “thermoplastic extrusion”.

Albert Folch et. al. “The upcoming 3D-printing revolution in microfluidics,” Lab on a Chip, v. 16,
p. 1720, 2016. DOI: 10.1039/c6lc00163g
 3D printing

Microfluidic devices printed with SL.

(A) SEM micrograph of the first microfluidic device (micro-mixer) printed with SL. (below) numerical
simulations of fluid mixing at the indicated cross-sections of the device.
(B) SEM of hollow micro-needles fabricated in e-Shell-200 by DLP-SL.
(C) Spiral microchannel with trapezoid cross-section (printed with Watershed) used for size-selective separation of bacterial cells.
(D) A complex microfluidic mixer and gradient generator printed with a commercial desktop SL system.
(E) A microfluidic “lobster trap” for bacteria fabricated in bovine serum albumin with multi-photon SL.
(F) A colony of E. coli forming at the bottom of the “lobster trap”
 3D printing

Microfluidic devices printed with MJM.

(A) A microfluidic device printed with Objet Connex 350 using vero white plus as the resin,
incorporating adapters for syringes, 8 channels, inlets, outlets and a port for inserting a polycarbonate membrane for cell culture. (Below) side
view schematic of the device.
(B) A multi-flow controller device using four fluidic transistor modules, 3D-printed with a Projet 3000 HD printer,
using Visijet M3 crystal photo-plastic resin.
(C) A fluid mixer and homogenizer printed with Objet Eden 250 using the Full Cure 720 resin.
(D) A schematic and photo of a polyjet-printed nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) “bubble pump”
 3D printing

Microfluidic devices printed with FDM.

(A) Microfluidic device used as a chemical micro-reactor, printed in poly-propylene by FDM with a 3dtouch printer.
(B) Microfluidic mixer for nanoparticle synthesis, printed with makerbot replicator 2×, by extruding pet and abs filaments for the
device and the connectors respectively.
(C) A microfluidic flow-based immuno-array for detecting protein biomarkers of cancer, printed with PLA,
using makerbot replicator 2×.
(D) Schematic drawing showing sequential printing of 350 μm wide microchannels in polycaprolactone, a silicone
sealant, and a polycaprolactone cell compartmentalization chamber to make a 3D-printed nervous-system-on-a-chip device.
(E) Schematic of the tri-chamber with peripheral nervous system neurons in chamber 1, Schwann cells in chamber 2, and epithelial cells in chamber 3.
(F) Photograph of the nervous system on a chip device, 3D-printed with a custom printing system.
3D printing
3D printing
3D printing
 Material selection chart

Engineers are from PDMS-land, Biologists are from Polystyrenia

DOI: 10.1039/c2lc20982a Read: DOI 10.1007/s00542-017-3282-3
Rapid prototyping of cyclic olefin copolymer based microfluidic
system with CO2 laser ablation
Material selection chart

CRITICAL REVIEW
 Clash of cultures
Biologists
• Like to stick to conventional
methods
• Need massive amount of data
• Different sense of time
• Key term is: Discovery
Polystyrene
Petri dish and microwell plate
Engineers
• Willing to explore new directions
• Usually satisfied with a somewhat
functioning system
• Key term is: Innovation
PDMS
Custom designed devices
 Issues with polystrene

1) Mold fabrication: Injection molding or hot embossing: Epoxy

molds is the new trend.

2) Access ports and interfacing: Drilling or laser ablation

3) Bonding: Thermal diffusion bonding, solvent bonding, laser

welding, ultrasonic welding

4) Surface chemistry: Very stable surface

Issues with PDMS
 Irreversible bonding of PDMS

PDMS
Poly DiMethyl Siloxane
 Alternatives of PDMS

DOI: 10.1039/c1lc20514e
Rapid prototyping polymers for microfluidic devices and high
pressure injections
 Fabrication parameters

Glass transition temperature:

Temperature at which polymer changes from hard glassy material to soft (not
melted) material

Melt temperature:
Temperature at which polymer melt flows, generally much higher than Tg.
Some polymers do not melt but remain soft until they decompose.

Thermal expansion coefficient (TEC or TCE):

Change in length or volume accompanying change in temperature

Hardness: Measured using indentation at a specific applied force

Elasticity: Ability of polymer to return to original shape after deformation


Tasks
• Drilling sample wells
• Surface modification
• Electrical interconnect
• Bonding of a sealing layer
• Dicing
Drilling
• Done by inserting pins into
mold tool
• Definition using etching is
desirable
Electrical interconnect (e.g.
metallization)
• Insert metal pins into reservoirs
• Evaporation, sputtering
• Plating
• Screen printing of conductive ink
Post-processes
Surface modification to tune hydrophobicity/
hydrophilicity and control sample adsorption
• Wet chemical techniques
• Plasma treatments
Sealing
• Silicon and glass - fusion or anodic bonding
• Thermoplastics - Low temperature thermal
annealing using same polymer
or one with lower Tg with or without P
- Pressure-sensitive adhesive
• Elastomers
Reversible seal upon contact
permanent seal using plasma oxidation