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Negligible-cost microfluidic device fabrication using 3D-printed interconnecting channel scaffolds

This paper reports a novel, negligible-cost and open-source process for the rapid prototyping of complex microfluidic devices in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using 3D-printed interconnecting microchannel scaffolds. These single-extrusion scaffolds are designed with interconnecting ends and used to qu...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Felton, Harry, Hughes, Robert, Diaz-Gaxiola, Andrea
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7857642/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33534849
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245206
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author Felton, Harry
Hughes, Robert
Diaz-Gaxiola, Andrea
author_facet Felton, Harry
Hughes, Robert
Diaz-Gaxiola, Andrea
author_sort Felton, Harry
collection PubMed
description This paper reports a novel, negligible-cost and open-source process for the rapid prototyping of complex microfluidic devices in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using 3D-printed interconnecting microchannel scaffolds. These single-extrusion scaffolds are designed with interconnecting ends and used to quickly configure complex microfluidic systems before being embedded in PDMS to produce an imprint of the microfluidic configuration. The scaffolds are printed using common Material Extrusion (MEX) 3D printers and the limits, cost & reliability of the process are evaluated. The limits of standard MEX 3D-printing with off-the-shelf printer modifications is shown to achieve a minimum channel cross-section of 100×100 μm. The paper also lays out a protocol for the rapid fabrication of low-cost microfluidic channel moulds from the thermoplastic 3D-printed scaffolds, allowing the manufacture of customisable microfluidic systems without specialist equipment. The morphology of the resulting PDMS microchannels fabricated with the method are characterised and, when applied directly to glass, without plasma surface treatment, are shown to efficiently operate within the typical working pressures of commercial microfluidic devices. The technique is further validated through the demonstration of 2 common microfluidic devices; a fluid-mixer demonstrating the effective interconnecting scaffold design, and a microsphere droplet generator. The minimal cost of manufacture means that a 5000-piece physical library of mix-and-match channel scaffolds (100 μm scale) can be printed for ~$0.50 and made available to researchers and educators who lack access to appropriate technology. This simple yet innovative approach dramatically lowers the threshold for research and education into microfluidics and will make possible the rapid prototyping of point-of-care lab-on-a-chip diagnostic technology that is truly affordable the world over.
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spelling pubmed-78576422021-02-11 Negligible-cost microfluidic device fabrication using 3D-printed interconnecting channel scaffolds Felton, Harry Hughes, Robert Diaz-Gaxiola, Andrea PLoS One Research Article This paper reports a novel, negligible-cost and open-source process for the rapid prototyping of complex microfluidic devices in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using 3D-printed interconnecting microchannel scaffolds. These single-extrusion scaffolds are designed with interconnecting ends and used to quickly configure complex microfluidic systems before being embedded in PDMS to produce an imprint of the microfluidic configuration. The scaffolds are printed using common Material Extrusion (MEX) 3D printers and the limits, cost & reliability of the process are evaluated. The limits of standard MEX 3D-printing with off-the-shelf printer modifications is shown to achieve a minimum channel cross-section of 100×100 μm. The paper also lays out a protocol for the rapid fabrication of low-cost microfluidic channel moulds from the thermoplastic 3D-printed scaffolds, allowing the manufacture of customisable microfluidic systems without specialist equipment. The morphology of the resulting PDMS microchannels fabricated with the method are characterised and, when applied directly to glass, without plasma surface treatment, are shown to efficiently operate within the typical working pressures of commercial microfluidic devices. The technique is further validated through the demonstration of 2 common microfluidic devices; a fluid-mixer demonstrating the effective interconnecting scaffold design, and a microsphere droplet generator. The minimal cost of manufacture means that a 5000-piece physical library of mix-and-match channel scaffolds (100 μm scale) can be printed for ~$0.50 and made available to researchers and educators who lack access to appropriate technology. This simple yet innovative approach dramatically lowers the threshold for research and education into microfluidics and will make possible the rapid prototyping of point-of-care lab-on-a-chip diagnostic technology that is truly affordable the world over. Public Library of Science 2021-02-03 /pmc/articles/PMC7857642/ /pubmed/33534849 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245206 Text en © 2021 Felton et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Felton, Harry
Hughes, Robert
Diaz-Gaxiola, Andrea
Negligible-cost microfluidic device fabrication using 3D-printed interconnecting channel scaffolds
title Negligible-cost microfluidic device fabrication using 3D-printed interconnecting channel scaffolds
title_full Negligible-cost microfluidic device fabrication using 3D-printed interconnecting channel scaffolds
title_fullStr Negligible-cost microfluidic device fabrication using 3D-printed interconnecting channel scaffolds
title_full_unstemmed Negligible-cost microfluidic device fabrication using 3D-printed interconnecting channel scaffolds
title_short Negligible-cost microfluidic device fabrication using 3D-printed interconnecting channel scaffolds
title_sort negligible-cost microfluidic device fabrication using 3d-printed interconnecting channel scaffolds
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7857642/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33534849
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245206
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