Processes for the 3D Printing of Hydrodynamic Flow-Focusing Devices
Flow focusing is an important hydrodynamic technique for cytometric analysis, enabling the rapid study of cellular samples to identify a variety of biological processes. To date, the majority of flow-focusing devices are fabricated using conventional photolithography or flame processing of glass cap...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-07-01
|
| Series: | Micromachines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/7/1388 |
| _version_ | 1797588151042048000 |
|---|---|
| author | Diwakar M. Awate Seth Holton Katherine Meyer Jaime J. Juárez |
| author_facet | Diwakar M. Awate Seth Holton Katherine Meyer Jaime J. Juárez |
| author_sort | Diwakar M. Awate |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Flow focusing is an important hydrodynamic technique for cytometric analysis, enabling the rapid study of cellular samples to identify a variety of biological processes. To date, the majority of flow-focusing devices are fabricated using conventional photolithography or flame processing of glass capillaries. This article presents a suite of low-cost, millifluidic, flow-focusing devices that were fabricated using a desktop sterolithgraphy (SLA) 3D printer. The suite of SLA printing strategies consists of a monolithic SLA method and a hybrid molding process. In the monolithic SLA approach, 1.3 mm square millifluidic channels were printed as a single piece. The printed device does not require any post processing, such as bonding or surface polishing for optical access. The hybrid molding approach consists of printing a mold using the SLA 3D printer. The mold is treated to an extended UV exposure and oven baked before using PDMS as the molding material for the channel. To demonstrate the viability of these channels, we performed a series of experiments using several flow-rate ratios to show the range of focusing widths that can be achieved in these devices. The experiments are validated using a numerical model developed in ANSYS. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:48:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4ed0d32b0d62431ea84bd1ff6130fa74 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:48:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-4ed0d32b0d62431ea84bd1ff6130fa742023-11-18T20:32:44ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2023-07-01147138810.3390/mi14071388Processes for the 3D Printing of Hydrodynamic Flow-Focusing DevicesDiwakar M. Awate0Seth Holton1Katherine Meyer2Jaime J. Juárez3Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USAFlow focusing is an important hydrodynamic technique for cytometric analysis, enabling the rapid study of cellular samples to identify a variety of biological processes. To date, the majority of flow-focusing devices are fabricated using conventional photolithography or flame processing of glass capillaries. This article presents a suite of low-cost, millifluidic, flow-focusing devices that were fabricated using a desktop sterolithgraphy (SLA) 3D printer. The suite of SLA printing strategies consists of a monolithic SLA method and a hybrid molding process. In the monolithic SLA approach, 1.3 mm square millifluidic channels were printed as a single piece. The printed device does not require any post processing, such as bonding or surface polishing for optical access. The hybrid molding approach consists of printing a mold using the SLA 3D printer. The mold is treated to an extended UV exposure and oven baked before using PDMS as the molding material for the channel. To demonstrate the viability of these channels, we performed a series of experiments using several flow-rate ratios to show the range of focusing widths that can be achieved in these devices. The experiments are validated using a numerical model developed in ANSYS.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/7/13883D printingflow focusingmillifluidics |
| spellingShingle | Diwakar M. Awate Seth Holton Katherine Meyer Jaime J. Juárez Processes for the 3D Printing of Hydrodynamic Flow-Focusing Devices Micromachines 3D printing flow focusing millifluidics |
| title | Processes for the 3D Printing of Hydrodynamic Flow-Focusing Devices |
| title_full | Processes for the 3D Printing of Hydrodynamic Flow-Focusing Devices |
| title_fullStr | Processes for the 3D Printing of Hydrodynamic Flow-Focusing Devices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Processes for the 3D Printing of Hydrodynamic Flow-Focusing Devices |
| title_short | Processes for the 3D Printing of Hydrodynamic Flow-Focusing Devices |
| title_sort | processes for the 3d printing of hydrodynamic flow focusing devices |
| topic | 3D printing flow focusing millifluidics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/7/1388 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT diwakarmawate processesforthe3dprintingofhydrodynamicflowfocusingdevices AT sethholton processesforthe3dprintingofhydrodynamicflowfocusingdevices AT katherinemeyer processesforthe3dprintingofhydrodynamicflowfocusingdevices AT jaimejjuarez processesforthe3dprintingofhydrodynamicflowfocusingdevices |