Rapid prototyping and fabrication of microstructure have been revolutionized by 3D printing, especially stereolithography (SLA) based techniques due to the superior spatial resolution they offer. However, SLA-type 3D printing faces intrinsic challenges in multi-material integration and adaptive Z-layer slicing due to the use of a vat and a mechanically controlled Z-layer generation. In this paper, we present the conceptualization of a novel paradigm which uses dynamic and multi-phase laminar flow in a microfluidic channel to achieve fabrication of 3D objects. Our strategy, termed “in situ 3D polymerization,” combines in situ polymerization and co-flow aqueous two-phase systems and achieves slicing, polymerization, and layer-by-layer printing of 3D structures in a microchannel. The printing layer could be predicted and controlled solely by programming the fluid input. Our strategy provides generalizability to fit with different light sources, pattern generators, and photopolymers. The integration of the microfluidic channel could enable high-degree multi-material integration without complicated modification of the 3D printer.
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September 2024
Research Article|
October 24 2024
In situ 3D polymerization (IS-3DP): Implementing an aqueous two-phase system for the formation of 3D objects inside a microfluidic channel
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Selected Papers from IEEE-NANOMED 2023
Guillermo Ramirez-Alvarado
;
Guillermo Ramirez-Alvarado
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio
, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA
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Gabriel Garibaldi
;
Gabriel Garibaldi
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio
, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA
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Chiraz Toujani
;
Chiraz Toujani
(Data curation, Investigation)
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio
, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA
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Gongchen Sun
Gongchen Sun
a)
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio
, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: gongchen.sun@utsa.edu
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: gongchen.sun@utsa.edu
Biomicrofluidics 18, 054113 (2024)
Article history
Received:
July 02 2024
Accepted:
September 30 2024
Citation
Guillermo Ramirez-Alvarado, Gabriel Garibaldi, Chiraz Toujani, Gongchen Sun; In situ 3D polymerization (IS-3DP): Implementing an aqueous two-phase system for the formation of 3D objects inside a microfluidic channel. Biomicrofluidics 1 September 2024; 18 (5): 054113. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0226620
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