Rapid Prototyping of Organ-on-a-Chip Devices Using Maskless Photolithography

Organ-on-a-chip (OoC) and microfluidic devices are conventionally produced using microfabrication procedures that require cleanrooms, silicon wafers, and photomasks. The prototyping stage often requires multiple iterations of design steps. A simplified prototyping process could therefore offer major advantages. Here, we describe a rapid and cleanroom-free microfabrication method using maskless photolithography. The approach utilizes a commercial digital micromirror device (DMD)-based setup using 375 nm UV light for backside exposure of an epoxy-based negative photoresist (SU-8) on glass coverslips. We show that microstructures of various geometries and dimensions, microgrooves, and microchannels of different heights can be fabricated. New SU-8 molds and soft lithography-based polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chips can thus be produced within hours. We further show that backside UV exposure and grayscale photolithography allow structures of different heights or structures with height gradients to be developed using a single-step fabrication process. Using this approach: (1) digital photomasks can be designed, projected, and quickly adjusted if needed; and (2) SU-8 molds can be fabricated without cleanroom availability, which in turn (3) reduces microfabrication time and costs and (4) expedites prototyping of new OoC devices.

Implementation of a Single Emulsion Mask for Three-Dimensional (3D) Microstructure Fabrication of Micromixers Using the Grayscale Photolithography Technique

Three-dimensional (3D) microstructures have been exploited in various applications of microfluidic devices. Multilevel structures in micromixers are among the essential structures in microfluidic devices that exploit 3D microstructures for different tasks. The efficiency of the micromixing process is thus crucial, as it affects the overall performance of a microfluidic device. Microstructures are currently fabricated by less effective techniques due to a slow point-to-point and layer-by-layer pattern exposure by using sophisticated and expensive equipment. In this work, a grayscale photolithography technique is proposed with the capability of simultaneous control on lateral and vertical dimensions of microstructures in a single mask implementation. Negative photoresist SU8 is used for mould realisation with structural height ranging from 163.8 to 1108.7 µm at grayscale concentration between 60% to 98%, depending on the UV exposure time. This technique is exploited in passive micromixers fabrication with multilevel structures to study the mixing performance. Based on optical absorbance analysis, it is observed that 3D serpentine structure gives the best mixing performance among other types of micromixers.

Mechanically adaptive implants fabricated with poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-based negative photoresists

A negative photoresist approach towards physiologically responsive mechanically adaptive polymers that soften upon insertion into the body is reported. The framework relies on photoresists that can be processed into implants having complex shapes.

Fabrication of a Three-Layer PDMS Pneumatic Microfluidic Chip for Micro Liquid Sample Operation

The emphasis of this paper lies in the fabrication of a three-layer polydimethylsiloxane chip for micro liquid sample operation. In this paper, the microchannels with a rectangular control layer cross section are fabricated based on a dry-film negative photoresist mold, while the microchannels with a rounded liquid layer cross section are fabricated by a positive photoresist reflow mold. The relationships between temperature and the time of reflow and the arc level of the liquid layer mold are discussed. Different ratios, curing temperatures, and curing times are used to fabricate the two PDMS layers to improve their toughness and plasticity separately. The PDMS slabs with microstructure networks are treated with oxygen plasma to improve their surface properties. The improved surface properties serve to reduce the temperature and time, and improve the sealing strength, which is as effective as adding PDMS in varying ratios. The micro liquid sample operation experiments show that high levels of pinching off and mixing performances on pneumatic microfluidic chips are obtained more easily.