Advancing 3D-Printed Microfluidics: Characterization of a Gas-Permeable, High-Resolution PDMS Resin for Stereolithography

The rapid expansion of microfluidic applications in the last decade has been curtailed by slow, laborious microfabrication techniques. Recently, microfluidics has been explored with additive manufacturing (AM), as it has gained legitimacy for producing end-use products and 3D printers have improved resolution capabilities. While AM satisfies many shortcomings with current microfabrication techniques, there still lacks a suitable replacement for the most used material in microfluidic devices, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). Formulation of a gas-permeable, high-resolution PDMS resin was developed using a methacrylate–PDMS copolymer and the novel combination of a photoabsorber, Sudan I, and photosensitizer, 2-Isopropylthioxanthone. Resin characterization and 3D printing were performed using a commercially available DLP–SLA system. A previously developed math model, mechanical testing, optical transmission, and gas-permeability testing were performed to validate the optimized resin formula. The resulting resin has Young’s modulus of 11.5 MPa, a 12% elongation at break, and optical transmission of >75% for wavelengths between 500 and 800 nm after polymerization, and is capable of creating channels as small as 60 µm in height and membranes as thin as 20 µm. The potential of AM is just being realized as a fabrication technique for microfluidics as developments in material science and 3D printing technologies continue to push the resolution capabilities of these systems.