Luncheon Presentation: Increasing the Accessibility of Microfluidics Device Fabrication via Extrusion-Based 3D Printing
Brandon Strong, Graduate Research Assistant, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Current microfabrication techniques (i.e., soft lithography) typically require complex, labor-intensive processes, and necessitate the use of highly-trained personnel [1]. An alternative method of economical and rapid prototyping is 3D printing. While vat polymerization techniques (i.e., SLA, DLP) have been more commonly used due to their increased resolution, extrusion-based 3D printing has many inherent advantages, including cost-effectiveness, increased availability of materials/equipment, ease of handling, and the ability to produce multi-material products. The purpose of our investigation was to fabricate complex microfluidics structures with commercially-available materials & equipment, thereby increasing accessibility to a wider range of researchers. Two 3D printers were used: Creality Ender 3 (~$200, Single Extrusion) and BCN3D Sigma R17 (~$3000, Dual Extrusion). Commercially-available polymers (i.e., PLA, conductive PLA) ranging from $15-100/kg were utilized in all designs.
Functional open-faced microfluidics channels less than 100 µm in width (200 µm depth) were readily reproduced, while channels as small as 20 µm in width were fabricated with both the low-end (CE3) and mid-range (BCN3D) 3D printers. All channels were tested without the use of an external pump. Fully enclosed horizontal (200-500 µm) and vertical (500-1000 µm) channels were also fabricated. Hybrid devices contained both vertical and horizontal channels to create complex 3D fluidic arrays. Multi-layered electronic devices with multi-electrode microfluidic wells were created and allowed for simple electroanalysis. 3D printed electronic circuits were also used to thermally actuate paraffin valves in microfluidics channels, which allowed for increased fluid control. This method of microfluidics device fabrication may allow more researchers in a diverse array of fields (e.g., biomimetics, tissue engineering, cell culture, single cell analysis) to more readily adapt this technology in their own labs.
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