Directly Printed Hollow Connectors for Microfluidic Interconnection with UV-Assisted Coaxial 3D Printing

Effective and reliable interconnections are crucial for microfluidics to connect with the macro world. Current microfluidic interfaces are still bulky, expensive, or with issues of clogging and material limitation. In this study, a novel ultraviolet (UV)-assisted coaxial three-dimensional (3D) print...

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Main Authors: Qianwen Xu, Jeffery Chi Chuen Lo, Shi-Wei Ricky Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/10/3384
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author Qianwen Xu
Jeffery Chi Chuen Lo
Shi-Wei Ricky Lee
author_facet Qianwen Xu
Jeffery Chi Chuen Lo
Shi-Wei Ricky Lee
author_sort Qianwen Xu
collection DOAJ
description Effective and reliable interconnections are crucial for microfluidics to connect with the macro world. Current microfluidic interfaces are still bulky, expensive, or with issues of clogging and material limitation. In this study, a novel ultraviolet (UV)-assisted coaxial three-dimensional (3D) printing approach was proposed to fabricate hollow microfluidic connectors with advantages of rapid prototyping, fixture-free, and materials compatible. An assembled coaxial nozzle was designed to enable co-flow extrusion, where the inner flow (water) served as the sacrificial layer and the outer flow (adhesive) was cured for shell formation. Furthermore, a converged UV-LED light source was attached to the coaxial nozzle for UV curing of adhesives. UV rheological characterizations were performed to study the UV curing kinematics, and the gelation time was employed to describe the state transition behaviors of UV curable adhesives used in the study. To explore requirements for successful hollow connectors direct printing, processing criteria such as co-flow regime and pre-cure time were investigated. The hollow connectors with an inner channel diameter of ~150 <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>m and a height of 5 mm were successfully printed on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and glass substrate. The integration feasibility of the proposed method was also demonstrated by the presented microfluidic device with printed hollow connectors.
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spelling doaj.art-453a12fbc1e24f708eebab33fc7a771e2023-11-20T00:23:48ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-05-011010338410.3390/app10103384Directly Printed Hollow Connectors for Microfluidic Interconnection with UV-Assisted Coaxial 3D PrintingQianwen Xu0Jeffery Chi Chuen Lo1Shi-Wei Ricky Lee2Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong 999077, ChinaElectronic Packaging Laboratory, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong 999077, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong 999077, ChinaEffective and reliable interconnections are crucial for microfluidics to connect with the macro world. Current microfluidic interfaces are still bulky, expensive, or with issues of clogging and material limitation. In this study, a novel ultraviolet (UV)-assisted coaxial three-dimensional (3D) printing approach was proposed to fabricate hollow microfluidic connectors with advantages of rapid prototyping, fixture-free, and materials compatible. An assembled coaxial nozzle was designed to enable co-flow extrusion, where the inner flow (water) served as the sacrificial layer and the outer flow (adhesive) was cured for shell formation. Furthermore, a converged UV-LED light source was attached to the coaxial nozzle for UV curing of adhesives. UV rheological characterizations were performed to study the UV curing kinematics, and the gelation time was employed to describe the state transition behaviors of UV curable adhesives used in the study. To explore requirements for successful hollow connectors direct printing, processing criteria such as co-flow regime and pre-cure time were investigated. The hollow connectors with an inner channel diameter of ~150 <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>m and a height of 5 mm were successfully printed on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and glass substrate. The integration feasibility of the proposed method was also demonstrated by the presented microfluidic device with printed hollow connectors.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/10/3384microfluidicshollow connectorUV-LED3D printingUV rheology
spellingShingle Qianwen Xu
Jeffery Chi Chuen Lo
Shi-Wei Ricky Lee
Directly Printed Hollow Connectors for Microfluidic Interconnection with UV-Assisted Coaxial 3D Printing
Applied Sciences
microfluidics
hollow connector
UV-LED
3D printing
UV rheology
title Directly Printed Hollow Connectors for Microfluidic Interconnection with UV-Assisted Coaxial 3D Printing
title_full Directly Printed Hollow Connectors for Microfluidic Interconnection with UV-Assisted Coaxial 3D Printing
title_fullStr Directly Printed Hollow Connectors for Microfluidic Interconnection with UV-Assisted Coaxial 3D Printing
title_full_unstemmed Directly Printed Hollow Connectors for Microfluidic Interconnection with UV-Assisted Coaxial 3D Printing
title_short Directly Printed Hollow Connectors for Microfluidic Interconnection with UV-Assisted Coaxial 3D Printing
title_sort directly printed hollow connectors for microfluidic interconnection with uv assisted coaxial 3d printing
topic microfluidics
hollow connector
UV-LED
3D printing
UV rheology
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/10/3384
work_keys_str_mv AT qianwenxu directlyprintedhollowconnectorsformicrofluidicinterconnectionwithuvassistedcoaxial3dprinting
AT jefferychichuenlo directlyprintedhollowconnectorsformicrofluidicinterconnectionwithuvassistedcoaxial3dprinting
AT shiweirickylee directlyprintedhollowconnectorsformicrofluidicinterconnectionwithuvassistedcoaxial3dprinting