Curved microfluidics

Researchers have printed unique microchannels for liquid on a 3D printer

Anna Yudina, "Scientific Russia"

These liquid channels can automate the production of diagnostic tools, sensors and analyses used for various medical tests and for other applications, according to a press release from the University of Minnesota Researchers 3D print unique micro-scale fluid channels used for medical testing.

The article by Su et al. 3D printed self-supporting elastomeric structures for multifunctional microfluidics is published in the journal Science Advances.

The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Minnesota in collaboration with the Center for the Development of Combat Capabilities of the US Army.

The team has printed these structures on a curved surface for the first time on a 3D printer, and this is the first step towards someday printing them directly on the skin for real-time analysis of bodily fluids.

Microfluidics is a rapidly developing field involving the control of fluid flows on a micron scale (one millionth of a meter). Microfluidics is used in a wide range of fields, including environmental sensing, medical diagnostics, pregnancy testing, screening, drug delivery and other biological analyses.

The value of the global microfluidics market is currently estimated at billions of dollars. Microfluidic devices are usually manufactured in a clean room with a controlled environment using a complex multi-stage technique called photolithography. During the manufacturing process, the silicone liquid flows over the patterned surface and then hardens, so that the patterns form channels in the hardened silicone plate.

In a new study, microfluidic channels are created in one step using 3D printing. The team used a custom 3D printer to directly print microfluidic channels on a surface in an open laboratory environment. The channels have a diameter of about 300 microns – about three times the size of a human hair (one hundredth of an inch). The team showed that the flow of fluid through the channels can be controlled, pumped and redirected using a series of valves.

Printing these microfluidic channels outside clean rooms can provide robot-based automation and mobility in the production of these devices. For the first time, researchers were also able to print microchannels directly on a curved surface. In addition, they integrated them with electronic sensors for the possibility of measuring "laboratory on a chip".

"This new study opens up many future possibilities for microfluidic devices," said Michael McAlpine, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota and a senior researcher on the study. –The ability to print these devices on a 3D printer outside of a clean room means that diagnostic tools can be printed by a doctor right in their office or remotely printed by soldiers in the field."

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