Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) provides a framework for judging the ethical qualities of innovation processes, however guidance for researchers on how to implement such practices is limited. Exploring RRI in the context of nanotechnology, this paper examines how the dispersed and interdisciplinary nature of the nanotechnology field somewhat hampers the abilities of individual researchers to control the innovation process. The ad-hoc nature of the field of nanotechnology, with its fluid boundaries and elusive membership, has thus far failed to establish a strong collective agent, such as a professional organization, through which researchers could collectively steer technological development in light of social and environmental needs. In this case, individual researchers cannot innovate responsibly purely by themselves, but there is also no structural framework to ensure that responsible development of nanotechnologies takes place. We argue that, in such a case, individual researchers have a duty to collectivize. In short, researchers in situations where it is challenging for individual agents to achieve the goals of RRI are compelled to develop organizations to facilitate RRI. In this paper we establish and discuss the criteria under which individual researchers have this duty to collectivize.
Recent advances in manufacturing techniques have opened up new interest in rapid prototyping at the microscale. Traditionally microscale devices are fabricated using photolithography, however this process can be time consuming, challenging, and expensive. This paper focuses on three promising rapid prototyping techniques: laser ablation, micromilling, and 3D printing. Emphasis is given to rapid prototyping tools that are commercially available to the research community rather those only used in manufacturing research. Due to the interest in rapid prototyping within the microfluidics community a test part was designed with microfluidic features. This test part was then manufactured using the three different rapid prototyping methods. Accuracy of the features and surface roughness were measured using a surface profilometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and optical microscope. Micromilling was found to produce the most accurate features and best surface finish down to ∼100 μm, however it did not achieve the small feature sizes produced by laser ablation. The 3D printed part, though easily manufactured, did not achieve feature sizes small enough for most microfluidic applications. Laser ablation created somewhat rough and erratic channels, however the process was faster and achieved features smaller than either of the other two methods.
Recent developments in microfluidics have opened up new interest in rapid prototyping with features on the microscale. Microfluidic devices are traditionally fabricated using photolithography, however this process can be time consuming and challenging. Laser ablation has emerged as the preferred solution for rapid prototyping of these devices. This paper explores the state of rapid prototyping for microfluidic devices by comparing laser ablation to micromilling and 3D printing. A microfluidic sample part was fabricated using these three methods. Accuracy of the features and surface roughness were measured using a surface profilometer, scanning electron microscope, and optical microscope. Micromilling was found to produce the most accurate features and best surface finish down to ∼100 μm, however it did not achieve the small feature sizes produced by laser ablation. 3D printed parts, though easily manufactured, were inadequate for most microfluidics applications. While laser ablation created somewhat rough and erratic channels, the process was within typical dimensions for microfluidic channels and should remain the default for microfluidic rapid prototyping.
Advective molding in vapor-permeable templates is an evaporation-driven process for submicron molding of nanoparticles with high fidelity. In this process, nanoparticle ink is drawn through channels in a vapor permeable template. The ink solvent is sorbed into the channel walls and evaporated through the template. As the complexity (e.g., width variation and turns in a channel) of the desired features increases, so does the likelihood of incompletely patterned nanoparticles. Patterning difficulties arise from dry-out, a condition where the nanoparticle ink dries before reaching the end of the channel and blocks the flow of more ink. Predicting dry-out during the template development stage is a critical step in patterning complex features. In this work, we present a method for predicting dry-out by incorporating two layers of finite element analysis. First, models for ink fluid flow and solvent diffusion through the template are used to determine wall sorption rate correlations. Fluid flow through complex templates is then modeled in a fluid-only model, with the flux rate into the template walls determined by the sorption rate correlations. The fluid velocities and wall sorption rates are then used to determine the likelihood of dry-out. The linked simulations successfully predict points of improper nanoparticle patterning in real templates.
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