Injection molding and characterization of PMMA-based microfluidic devices

Ma, Xiaomin; Li, Rui; Jin, Zhiming; Fan, Yiqiang; Zhou, Xuance; Zhang, Yajun

doi:10.1007/s00542-019-04662-2

Cited by 73 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Thermoplastics are often regarded as the ultimate material class for mass manufacturability due to the fact that a large number of materials are compatible with injection molding, capable of producing millions of units per annum [ 57 ]. As examples, it is worth mentioning polypropylene [ 60 ], polycarbonate [ 61 ], and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) [ 62 ]. Yet, this article has been focused on materials that can be prototyped in a typical academic setting, with access to a standard cleanroom environment, but can also be used to fabricate devices at larger volumes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lung on a Chip Development from Off-Stoichiometry Thiol–Ene Polymer

et al. 2021

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Current in vitro models have significant limitations for new respiratory disease research and rapid drug repurposing. Lung on a chip (LOAC) technology offers a potential solution to these problems. However, these devices typically are fabricated from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which has small hydrophobic molecule absorption, which hinders the application of this technology in drug repurposing for respiratory diseases. Off-stoichiometry thiol–ene (OSTE) is a promising alternative material class to PDMS. Therefore, this study aimed to test OSTE as an alternative material for LOAC prototype development and compare it to PDMS. We tested OSTE material for light transmission, small molecule absorption, inhibition of enzymatic reactions, membrane particle, and fluorescent dye absorption. Next, we microfabricated LOAC devices from PDMS and OSTE, functionalized with human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) and A549 cell lines, and analyzed them with immunofluorescence. We demonstrated that compared to PDMS, OSTE has similar absorption of membrane particles and effect on enzymatic reactions, significantly lower small molecule absorption, and lower light transmission. Consequently, the immunofluorescence of OSTE LOAC was significantly impaired by OSTE optical properties. In conclusion, OSTE is a promising material for LOAC, but optical issues should be addressed in future LOAC prototypes to benefit from the material properties.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lung on a Chip Development from Off-Stoichiometry Thiol–Ene Polymer

et al. 2021

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“…Second, the use of a generic hydrogel whose components are not fully defined made it difficult to characterize the dynamics in the extra cellular matrix, especially the basement membrane in BBB that actively participates in BBB regulation 88 . Third, our current model uses PDMS (poly-dimethyl siloxane) and thus retains the PDMSinherent pitfalls, such as cytotoxicity, protein uptake and gas passage 89,90 . As an alternative, microfluidic chips prepared with plastic injection molding has been proposed to overcome these limitations of PDMS, as well as for large-scale production purposes 91 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microphysiological stroke model for systematic evaluation of neurorestorative potential of stem cell therapy

Lee

Lyu

Park

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Stem cell therapy is emerging as a promising treatment option to restore a neurological function after ischemic stroke. Despite the growing number of candidate stem cell types, each with unique characteristics, there is a lack of experimental platform to systematically evaluate their neurorestorative potential. When stem cells are transplanted into ischemic brain, the therapeutic efficacy primarily depends on the response of the neurovascular unit (NVU) to these extraneous cells. In this work, we developed an ischemic stroke microphysiological system (MPS) with a functional NVU on a microfluidic chip. Our new chip design facilitated the incorporated cells to form a functional blood-brain barrier (BBB) and restore their in vivo-like behaviors in both healthy and ischemic conditions. We utilized this MPS to track the transplanted stem cells and characterize their neurorestorative behaviors reflected in gene expression levels. Each type of stem cells showed unique neurorestorative effects, primarily through supporting the endogenous recovery, rather than through direct cell replacement. And the recovery of synaptic activities, critical for neurological function, was more tightly correlated with the recovery of the structural and functional integrity in NVU, rather than with the regeneration of neurons itself.

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“…The structures realized with the Direct Peeling method can be produced with other fabrication techniques, such as milling [ 19 ] or injection molding, [ 27,28 ] thanks to their millimetric dimensions. However, 3D printing offers higher versatility, as the fabrication process can be fully tuned in house from design to manufacturing to fit different needs and possible new necessities naturally arising during research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this method, the intrinsic properties of 3D printing allowed a high degree of versatility compared to other techniques, such as injection molding, for the fabrication of the negative mold. In injection molding, [ 27,28 ] each variation on the design must be followed by the fabrication of a new metal mold, making the process expensive and not comparably versatile. The second device was intermediate sized, contained T‐shaped pillars, and was suitable for 24‐well plates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupling 3D Printing and Novel Replica Molding for In House Fabrication of Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering Devices

Iuliano

Wal

Ruijmbeek

et al. 2020

Adv Materials Technologies

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The transition from 2D to 3D engineered tissue cultures is changing the way biologists can perform in vitro functional studies. However, there has been a paucity in the establishment of methods required for the generation of microdevices and cost‐effective scaling up. To date, approaches including multistep photolithography, milling and 3D printing have been used that involve specialized and expensive equipment or time‐consuming steps with variable success. Here, a fabrication pipeline is presented based on affordable off‐the‐shelf 3D printers and novel replica molding strategies for rapid and easy in‐house production of hundreds of 3D culture devices per day, with customizable size and geometry. This pipeline is applied to generate tissue engineered skeletal muscles in vitro using human induced pluripotent stem cell‐derived myogenic progenitors. These production methods can be employed in any standard biomedical laboratory.

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Injection molding and characterization of PMMA-based microfluidic devices

Cited by 73 publications

References 23 publications

Lung on a Chip Development from Off-Stoichiometry Thiol–Ene Polymer

Lung on a Chip Development from Off-Stoichiometry Thiol–Ene Polymer

Microphysiological stroke model for systematic evaluation of neurorestorative potential of stem cell therapy

Coupling 3D Printing and Novel Replica Molding for In House Fabrication of Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering Devices

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