Prototyping of Microfluidic Devices in Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Using Solid-Object Printing

TLDR

Solid‑object printing provides a photolithography alternative for microfluidic fabrication, enabling features larger than 250 µm and masters up to 250 × 190 × 200 mm. A 3‑D CAD model is printed directly into a master by a solid‑object printer, then a PDMS replica is molded from that master to produce the device. The printed masters are robust, inexpensive, and rapidly fabricated, allowing PDMS devices with multilevel, tall, large‑area (~150 cm²), and non‑intersecting crossing channels.

Abstract

A solid-object printer was used to produce masters for the fabrication of microfluidic devices in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). The printer provides an alternative to photolithography for applications where features of >250 μm are needed. Solid-object printing is capable of delivering objects that have dimensions as large as 250 × 190 × 200 mm (x, y, z) with feature sizes that can range from 10 cm to 250 μm. The user designs a device in 3-D in a CAD program, and the CAD file is used by the printer to fabricate a master directly without the need for a mask. The printer can produce complex structures, including multilevel features, in one unattended printing. The masters are robust and inexpensive and can be fabricated rapidly. Once a master was obtained, a PDMS replica was fabricated by molding against it and used to fabricate a microfluidic device. The capabilities of this method are demonstrated by fabricating devices that contain multilevel and tall features, devices that cover a large area (∼150 cm2), and devices that contain nonintersecting, crossing channels.