Multi-Nozzle Biopolymer Deposition for Freeform Fabrication of Tissue Constructs

Advanced freeform fabrication techniques have been recently used for the construction of tissue scaffolds because of the process repeatability and capability of high accuracy in fabrication resolution at the macro and micro scales. Among many applicable tissue scaffolding materials, polymeric materials have unique properties in terms of the biocompatibility and degradation, and have thus been widely utilized in tissue engineering applications. Hydrogels, such as alginate, has been one of the most important polymer scaffolding materials because of its biocompatibility and internal structure similarity to that of the extracellular matrix of many tissues, and its relatively moderate processing. Three-dimensional deposition has been an entreating freeform fabrication method of biopolymer and particularly hydrogel scaffolds because of its readiness to deposit fluids at ambient temperatures. This paper presents a recent development of biopolymer deposition based freeform fabrication for 3-diemnsinal tissue scaffolds. The system configuration of multi-nozzles used in the deposition of sodium alginate solutions and Poly-?- Caprolactone (PCL) are described. Studies on polymer deposition feasibility and structural formability are conducted, and the preliminary results are presented.Mechanical Engineerin

Schizophrenic molecules and materials with multiple personalities - how materials science could revolutionise how we do chemical sensing

Molecular photoswitches like spiropyrans derivatives offer exciting possibilities for the development of analytical platforms incorporating photo-responsive materials for functions such as light-activated guest uptake and release and optical reporting on status (passive form, free active form, guest bound to active form). In particular, these switchable materials hold tremendous promise for microflow-systems, in view of the fact that their behaviour can be controlled and interrogated remotely using light from LEDs, without the need for direct physical contact. We demonstrate the immobilisation of these materials on microbeads which can be incorporated into a microflow system to facilitate photoswitchable guest uptake and release. We also introduce novel hybrid materials based on spiropyrans derivatives grafted onto a polymer backbone which, in the presence of an ionic liquid, produces a gel-like material capable of significant photoactuation behaviour. We demonstrate how this material can be incorporated into microfluidic platforms to produce valve-like structures capable of controlling liquid movement using light

A novel single-use SU-8 microvalve for pressure-driven microfluidic applications

A novel microfluidic single-use valve for fluid injection and extraction in pressure-driven applications is presented in this paper. The device consists of a thin SU-8 membrane crossed by a resistor that withstands a mechanical stress induced by a pressure difference. When the resistor heats up the membrane, the SU-8 fracture strength drastically decreases causing the valve activation. This device has been designed, fabricated using inexpensive SU-8 and printed circuit board technologies and finally characterized. The hybrid thermal–mechanical microvalve operation principle has been demonstrated and experimental results have shown the device characteristics and performance. Specifically, this design was functional at pressures of 0.8 MPa and opened in less than 3.2 s with an applied power of 280 mW. The simple fabrication process and the absence of moving mechanical parts have made the valve suitable for large-scale integration in lab-on-chip microfluidic platforms

Biofabrication: an overview of the approaches used for printing of living cells

The development of cell printing is vital for establishing biofabrication approaches as clinically relevant tools. Achieving this requires bio-inks which must not only be easily printable, but also allow controllable and reproducible printing of cells. This review outlines the general principles and current progress and compares the advantages and challenges for the most widely used biofabrication techniques for printing cells: extrusion, laser, microvalve, inkjet and tissue fragment printing. It is expected that significant advances in cell printing will result from synergistic combinations of these techniques and lead to optimised resolution, throughput and the overall complexity of printed constructs

A Customer Programmable Microfluidic System

Microfluidics is both a science and a technology offering great and perhaps even revolutionary capabilities to impact the society in the future. However, due to the scaling effects there are unknown phenomena and technology barriers about fluidics in microchannel, material properties in microscale and interactions with fluids are still missing. A systematic investigation has been performed aiming to develop A Customer Programmable Microfluidic System . This innovative Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based microfluidic system provides a bio-compatible platform for bio-analysis systems such as Lab-on-a-chip, micro-total-analysis system and biosensors as well as the applications such as micromirrors. The system consists of an array of microfluidic devices and each device containing a multilayer microvalve. The microvalve uses a thermal pneumatic actuation method to switch and/or control the fluid flow in the integrated microchannels. It provides a means to isolate samples of interest and channel them from one location of the system to another based on needs of realizing the customers\u27 desired functions. Along with the fluid flow control properties, the system was developed and tested as an array of micromirrors. An aluminum layer is embedded into the PDMS membrane. The metal was patterned as a network to increase the reflectivity of the membrane, which inherits the deformation of the membrane as a mirror. The deformable mirror is a key element in the adaptive optics. The proposed system utilizes the extraordinary flexibility of PDMS and the addressable control to manipulate the phase of a propagating optical wave front, which in turn can increase the performance of the adaptive optics. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has been widely used in microfabrication for microfluidic systems. However, few attentions were paid in the past to mechanical properties of PDMS. Importantly there is no report on influences of microfabrication processes which normally involve chemical reactors and biologically reaction processes. A comprehensive study was made in this work to study fundamental issues such as scaling law effects on PDMS properties, chemical emersion and temperature effects on mechanical properties of PDMS, PDMS compositions and resultant properties, as well as bonding strength, etc. Results achieved from this work will provide foundation of future developments of microfluidics utilizing PDMS

Modular integration and on-chip sensing approaches for tunable fluid control polymer microdevices

228 p.Doktore tesi honetan mikroemariak kontrolatzeko elementuak diseinatu eta garatuko dira, mikrobalbula eta mikrosentsore bat zehazki. Ondoren, gailu horiek batera integratuko dira likido emari kontrolatzaile bat sortzeko asmotan. Helburu nagusia gailuen fabrikazio arkitektura modular bat frogatzea da, non Lab-on-a-Chip prototipoak garatzeko beharrezko fase guztiak harmonizatuz, Cyclic-Olefin-Polymer termoplastikozko mikrogailu merkeak pausu gutxi batzuetan garatuko diren, hauen kalitate industriala bermatuz. Ildo horretan, mikrogailuak prototipotik produkturako trantsizio azkar, erraz, errentagarri eta arriskurik gabeen bidez lortu daitezkeenetz frogatuko da

Development of the technological process for the production of the electrostatic curved beam actuator for pneumatic microvalves

This work focuses on the development of an effective technological process for the production of the electrostatic curved beam actuator capable to be used as a driving element in different devices such as microswitches or microvalves. Main attention was drawn to the investigation of electroplating technique as a critical process in the microactuator fabrication as well as to the design of the actuator. In addition, usability of ceramic substrates for the microactuator and microvalve production was examined. The idea behind it was that ceramic substrates can be preprocessed and delivered already with necessary electrical connections on it. This would make the entire production process simpler and cheaper. Several types of polished alumina (Al2O3) substrates were used for this purpose. Electrostatic actuation principle was chosen for its good scaling properties to small dimensions, low power consumption, smaller size and higher switching speed. Curved shape of the actuator allows to reduce its pull-in voltage and thus to increase the amplitude of motion as compared to the parallel-plate structures. The material of the actuator is nickel. It was chosen for its good mechanical properties and relative simplicity of processing. Double layer nickel electroplating was used to produce the microactuator. The layers have different stress gradients controlled by current density during the electroplating process, making it possible to achieve the desired bending of the structure. Compared to bimetallic bending cantilever actuators, the curvature of the single-metal beam is less dependable on temperature and aging. Thus, more stable performance under changing working conditions was ensured. In order to avoid sticking of the microactuator to the isolation layer in the closed state, an array of stand-off bumps was added on the back-side of the beam. These bumps reduce the contact area and increase the distance between the actuator and the isolation layer. Fifteen design variants of the actuator differing in length and width were fabricated in order find the most effective solution for given system requirements. Based on the actuators technological process developed in this work, a simple electrostatic microvalve was designed and produced. Final variants of microvalve were fabricated on a standard 380 µm thick silicon wafer. Gas inlet channel as well as the electrodes and the actuator itself are all placed on the same substrate in order to reduce the size and cost of the system. During characterization, mechanical stability of the actuators and microvalves were studied by means of drop, temperature and shear tests in order to prove the reliability of the system. System performance tests proved stable pull-in voltages from 8,6 V to 11,6 V. Maximal gas flow through the valve was 110±5 ml/min at applied differential pressure of 2 bar

Integration of functional materials into microfluidic devices for fluidic control and sensing

165 p.El agua es una fuente clave para el buen estado de las personas y, en la naturaleza, es una fuente nutritiva esencial responsable del crecimiento de la vegetación. Por ello, la monitorización de la calidad del agua es de gran importancia para la sociedad. En esta tesis se pretende contribuir a un futuro donde sensores altamente autónomos y eficaces son capaces de medir y compartir la información de la calidad de nuestro medio ambiente, en particular, de las diferentes matrices de agua. En este sentido, se han desarrollado diferentes módulos para contribuir con bajo coste y tecnología de rápida fabricación a la monitorización continuada de la calidad del agua. Para conseguir reducir los costes asociados a la producción de componentes convencionales, se han implementado materiales inteligentes dentro de dispositivos microfluídicos para conseguir el control fluídico y sensórico

Towards rapid 3D direct manufacture of biomechanical microstructures

The field of stereolithography has developed rapidly over the last 20 years, and commercially available systems currently have sufficient resolution for use in microengineering applications. However, they have not as yet been fully exploited in this field. This thesis investigates the possible microengineering applications of microstereolithography systems, specifically in the areas of active microfluidic devices and microneedles. The fields of micropumps and microvalves, stereolithography and microneedles are reviewed, and a variety of test builds were fabricated using the EnvisionTEC Perfactory Mini Multi-Lens stereolithography system in order to define its capabilities. A number of microneedle geometries were considered. This number was narrowed down using finite element modelling, before another simulation was used to optimise these structures. 9 × 9 arrays of 400 μm tall, 300 μm base diameter microneedles were subjected to mechanical testing. Per needle failure forces of 0.263 and 0.243 N were recorded for the selected geometries, stepped cone and inverted trumpet. The 90 μm needle tips were subjected to between 30 and 32 MPa of pressure at their failure point - more than 10 times the required pressure to puncture average human skin. A range of monolithic micropumps were produced with integrated 4 mm diameter single-layer 70 μm-thick membranes used as the basis for a reciprocating displacement operating principle. The membranes were tested using an oscillating pneumatic actuation, and were found reliable (>1,000,000 cycles) up to 2.0 PSIG. Pneumatic single-membrane nozzle/diffuser rectified devices produced flow rates of up to 1,000 μl/min with backpressures of up to 375 Pa. Another device rectified using active membrane valves was found to self-prime, and produced backpressures of up to 4.9 kPa. These devices and structures show great promise for inclusion in complex, fully integrated and active microfluidic systems fabricated using microstereolithography alone, with implications for both cost of manufacture and lead time

Market Analysis: Wavetrend Technologies, Inc.

Our project team performed a market analysis for Wavetrend Technologies, Inc. Wavetrend is a world leader in the deployment of comprehensive track-and-trace solutions providing real-time visibility of assets, people and modes of transportation. This project recommended implementation of RFID technology in the aviation and healthcare industries because of profit potential and the technology\u27s advantages. These recommendations were supported by a great deal of market research gathered from a variety of primary and secondary sources. Our key primary source was a survey distributed to a number of Wavetrend\u27s customers while our secondary sources consisted of various RFID technology periodicals, several academic publications in the WPI database, Yahoo! Finance, and ABI Research