Polyjet 3D Printing Used to Make PDMS Molds for Sliding Trapper Microfluidics Design Concept12/27/2018
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Polyjet 3D Printing Used to Make PDMS Molds for Sliding Trapper Microfluidics Design Concept http://bit.ly/2RjKjX8 Microfluidics, which often crosses paths these days with 3D printing, deals with manipulating and controlling the flow of fluids in tiny channels, often on the sub-millimeter scale. Many microfluidic devices have been developed to assist in cell analysis, which is very beneficial for the medical field. For his University of Saskatchewan thesis paper, titled “On the Sliding Principle of Micro-Fluidic Devices for a Potential Use in Sorting Cells of Different Sizes with One Device,” Annal Arumugam Arthanari Arumugam focused on a new microfluidics design concept known as the sliding principle. In the paper, Arumugam explains that while there are many microfluidic devices that can capture, isolate, position, and sort single cells, most can only work with cells of the same size. Tunable microfluidic devices can be used to capture and sort single cells sized 20 to 30 µm, but many applications have a desired size range of 2 μm to 100 μm, or even more.
The device’s overall function requirement (FR) is to be able to capture cells of different sizes, ranging from 2 µ to 100 µ, with the resolution of 2-5 µm. Sub-function requirements included:
The device that the cells contact had to be made from biocompatible material, with maximal stress in the cell at less than 4.5 Pa, and the adjusting range of the sliding less than 1000 µm. Arumugam considered two different design options for his sliding trapper, but the first did not work out, as the contact surface of two blocks may not have been flat enough to allow for smooth sliding between blocks and leakage was possible. So he instead focused on the second option.
A guide, rack, and top and bottom blocks, with embedded sheets made out of PDMS, make up the mechanism; a single axial stage with the motion resolution of ~3 um, made out of full cure 835 Vero white plus material, helped to drive the top block. Arumugam used Polyjet 3D printing to make a mold for the PDMS parts. In testing the design, the device was measured to see if it met “the design specification in the geometry and topology of the device,” and the sliding operation was also measured, in order to “examine the change of the well.” While the measurements were satisfactory for the PDMS sheets, and showed that the sliding principle concept is indeed valid, they were eroded a little on the sides, which makes channel spacing less accurate; the reason for this damage was due to the sticky PDMS not peeling cleanly away from the mold during curing.
The author recommends some future works to help advance microfluidic device technology, such as optimizing the fabrication of PDMS channels and further modification of his design. Discuss this research and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com December 27, 2018 at 01:18PM
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