The Liberalization of Microfluidics: Form 2 Benchtop 3D Printing as an Affordable Alternative to Established Manufacturing Methods

Heidt, Benjamin; Rogosic, Renato; Bonni, Silvio; Passariello-Jansen, Juliette; Dimech, David; Lowdon, Joseph W.; Arreguin-Campos, Rocio; Redeker, Erik Steen; Eersels, Kasper; Diliën, Hanne; Grinsven, Bart van; Cleij, Thomas J.

doi:10.1002/pssa.201900935

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This not only serves as a base requirement, but also makes several aspects, such as acquiring spare parts and stock management, more straightforward down the line. Additionally, 3D-printing and other new technologies might be of use to create spare parts on demand, as those new devices have already been shown to be able to create simple microfluidic parts, and were able to supply hospitals with respirator valves during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 41 , 42 ].…”

Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Point of Care Diagnostics in Resource-Limited Settings: A Review of the Present and Future of PoC in Its Most Needed Environment

et al. 2020

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Point of care (PoC) diagnostics are at the focus of government initiatives, NGOs and fundamental research alike. In high-income countries, the hope is to streamline the diagnostic procedure, minimize costs and make healthcare processes more efficient and faster, which, in some cases, can be more a matter of convenience than necessity. However, in resource-limited settings such as low-income countries, PoC-diagnostics might be the only viable route, when the next laboratory is hours away. Therefore, it is especially important to focus research into novel diagnostics for these countries in order to alleviate suffering due to infectious disease. In this review, the current research describing the use of PoC diagnostics in resource-limited settings and the potential bottlenecks along the value chain that prevent their widespread application is summarized. To this end, we will look at literature that investigates different parts of the value chain, such as fundamental research and market economics, as well as actual use at healthcare providers. We aim to create an integrated picture of potential PoC barriers, from the first start of research at universities to patient treatment in the field. Results from the literature will be discussed with the aim to bring all important steps and aspects together in order to illustrate how effectively PoC is being used in low-income countries. In addition, we discuss what is needed to improve the situation further, in order to use this technology to its fullest advantage and avoid “leaks in the pipeline”, when a promising device fails to take the next step of the valorization pathway and is abandoned.

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Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Point of Care Diagnostics in Resource-Limited Settings: A Review of the Present and Future of PoC in Its Most Needed Environment

et al. 2020

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“…Currently, two 3D printing technologies outstand above the rest [12,13]: fused deposition modelling (FDM) [14,15] and stereolithography (SLA) [16,17]. FDM printers are based on the extrusion of a heated polymeric filament fused, that forms consecutive layers of a piece (Figure 1a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internal Microchannel Manufacturing Using Stereolithographic 3D Printing

Carnero¹,

Bao-Varela²,

Gómez‐Varela³

et al. 2022

Trends and Opportunities of Rapid Prototyping Technologies

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Internal channels are one of the most interesting structures to implement in microfluidics devices. Unfortunately, the optical technologies typically used in microfluidics, such as photolithography or reactive ion etching, are unable to generate these structures by only allowing surface structuring. Stereolithographic 3D printing has emerged as a very promising technology in internal microchannel manufacturing, by allowing a layer-by-layer structuring in volume performed by a laser that photopolymerises a liquid resin. Recent advances in laser technologies have reached resolutions of tens of micrometres. The high resolution of this type of printer, which a priori would allow the fabrication of channels of the same dimensions, may pose a problem by impeding the evacuation of uncured resin. In this chapter, the compromise between size and resin evacuation will be evaluated to find the optimal diameter range in which unobstructed and accurate microchannels can be obtained.

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“…For the direct manufacturing of microfluidic channels, it is either possible to create closed channels embedded inside the printed device or as groves on the surface. While the creation of closed channels gives more possibilities in terms of three-dimensional creation, it is difficult to produce them in small sizes with common desktop printers, as the smaller the channel size, the more likely it is that resin gets trapped inside and is cured by stray light during printing, resulting in clogging of the channel [25]. Therefore, the creation of surface channels is vastly more reliable and smaller channel sizes can be achieved, but it opens up another problem: the channel needs to be sealed to be of use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topographical Vacuum Sealing of 3D-Printed Multiplanar Microfluidic Structures

et al. 2021

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We demonstrate a novel way of creating three-dimensional microfluidic channels capable of following complex topographies. To this end, substrates with open channels and different geometries were 3D-printed, and the open channels were consecutively closed with a thermoplastic using a low-resolution vacuum-forming approach. This process allows the sealing of channels that are located on the surface of complex multiplanar topographies, as the thermoplastic aligns with the surface-shape (the macrostructure) of the substrate, while the microchannels remain mostly free of thermoplastic as their small channel size resists thermoplastic inflow. This new process was analyzed for its capability to consistently close different substrate geometries, which showed reliable sealing of angles >90°. Furthermore, the thermoplastic intrusion into channels of different widths was quantified, showing a linear effect of channel width and percentage of thermoplastic intrusion; ranging from 43.76% for large channels with 2 mm width to only 5.33% for channels with 500 µm channel width. The challenging sealing of substrate ‘valleys’, which are created when two large protrusions are adjacent to each other, was investigated and the correlation between protrusion distance and height is shown. Lastly, we present three application examples: a serpentine mixer with channels spun around a cuboid, increasing the usable surface area; a cuvette-inspired flow cell for a 2-MXP biosensor based on molecular imprinted polymers, fitting inside a standard UV/Vis-Spectrophotometer; and an adapter system that can be manufactured by one-sided injection molding and is self-sealed before usage. These examples demonstrate how this novel technology can be used to easily adapt microfluidic circuits for application in biosensor platforms.

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The Liberalization of Microfluidics: Form 2 Benchtop 3D Printing as an Affordable Alternative to Established Manufacturing Methods

Cited by 16 publications

References 27 publications

Point of Care Diagnostics in Resource-Limited Settings: A Review of the Present and Future of PoC in Its Most Needed Environment

Point of Care Diagnostics in Resource-Limited Settings: A Review of the Present and Future of PoC in Its Most Needed Environment

Internal Microchannel Manufacturing Using Stereolithographic 3D Printing

Topographical Vacuum Sealing of 3D-Printed Multiplanar Microfluidic Structures

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