Micro/nanostructured bioelectronic devices for various biofluid detection applications are systematically summarized and discussed with new insights for future health monitoring.
The microstructure design of hydrogel materials offers a broad range of practical applications and is extensively used in flexible sensors, polymer microneedles, microfluidic chips, and other biomedical engineering fields. Among the bio-sourced hydrogels, oligomeric hyaluronic acid (HA) possesses wound healing, anti-tumor, and angiogenesis properties. However, micropatterning soft hydrogels, such as HA-relative hydrogels containing 90% water by weight, continue to pose difficulties for both high precision and micro-scale lithography. The purpose of this study was to compare the photolithography and light-cured inkjet printing methods of methacryloyl HA hydrogel (HAMA-gel) to those for synthetic light-curable polymer resins. Photolithography and light-cured inkjet printing methods with designed scale, high resolution, and little processing times were used to effectively prepare micropatterns of HAMA-gel. The well-shaped micropatterns consisted of parallel channels in tens of micrometers and strip/grid lines in the hundreds of micrometers. Human vein endothelial cells cultured on the material’s surface demonstrated that HAMA-gel had good biocompatibility. The width of the flow channel (10 and 20 µm) was regulated on the surface of the microstructure to allow for simultaneous control of cell growth along the flow channel and groove directions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.