3D printed water-soluble scaffolds for rapid production of PDMS micro-fluidic flow chambers

Scientific Reports
Tobias DahlbergMagnus Andersson

Abstract

We report a novel method for fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) biocompatible micro-fluidic flow chambers in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by 3D-printing water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) filaments as master scaffolds. The scaffolds are first embedded in the PDMS and later residue-free dissolved in water leaving an inscription of the scaffolds in the hardened PDMS. We demonstrate the strength of our method using a regular, cheap 3D printer, and evaluate the inscription process and the channels micro-fluidic properties using image analysis and digital holographic microscopy. Furthermore, we provide a protocol that allows for direct printing on coverslips and we show that flow chambers with a channel cross section down to 40 μm × 300 μm can be realized within 60 min. These flow channels are perfectly transparent, biocompatible and can be used for microscopic applications without further treatment. Our proposed protocols facilitate an easy, fast and adaptable production of micro-fluidic channel designs that are cost-effective, do not require specialized training and can be used for a variety of cell and bacterial assays. To help readers reproduce our micro-fluidic devices, we provide: full preparation protocols, 3D-printing C...Continue Reading

References

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Citations

Mar 22, 2019·Microscopy and Microanalysis : the Official Journal of Microscopy Society of America, Microbeam Analysis Society, Microscopical Society of Canada·Hanqing ZhangMagnus Andersson
Aug 20, 2019·Faraday Discussions·Trevor G JohnstonAlshakim Nelson
Jan 17, 2021·Journal of Chromatography. a·Joshua J DavisJames P Grinias
Mar 7, 2021·Polymers·Saad Saleh AlghamdiNaba K Dutta
Jun 3, 2021·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Katharina UrschelBarbara Dietel
Jan 5, 2021·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Amar M KamatAjay Giri Prakash Kottapalli
Jul 25, 2019·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Roberto RiescoLaurent Malaquin
Oct 1, 2021·Critical Reviews in Microbiology·Enriqueta Garcia-Gutierrez, Paul D Cotter
Oct 26, 2021·Advanced Biology·Mario Del RosarioRicardo Henriques
May 13, 2019··Alshakim NelsonTrevor G. Johnston

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
optical tweezers
atomic force microscopy
light microscopy
chemical treatment
profiler
AFM

Software Mentioned

Cura
Autodesk Inventor Professional
UmUTracker
Gwyddion
code
ImageJ
Autodesk Inventor

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