Current Trends in Microfabrication Techniques for Lab-on-a-Chip and Biomedical Microdevices

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "B:Biology and Biomedicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 1746

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past three decades, microfabrication and microfluidic technologies have experienced remarkable advancements and sparked a broad range of applications, including in vitro diagnostics, drug delivery, infectious diseases, and numerous other fields. The fabrication of microfluidic devices has benefited from the well-established semiconductor microfabrication technology for creating planar miniaturized features with unprecedented high-precision and high-throughput capabilities. These “flat” microfluidic devices enable handling of minute amounts of fluids as low as a few picoliters in a network of microchannels and the manipulation of various biochemical reactions at very small volumes. Since its introduction by George Whitesides in 1998, soft lithography, particularly in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), became the dominant fabrication technique for lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices. Soft lithography offers a straightforward and efficient process, paving the way for its widespread adoption across academia widespread and research labs. However, these fabrication techniques still lack standards that govern possible mass production. Various emerging fabrication techniques, such as molding, 3D printing, and nanofabrication, have shown promise in overcoming the limitations of traditional soft lithography in terms of versatility, scalability, and the ability to work with a wider range of materials and geometries (e.g., 3D structures).

We are delighted to announce this Special Issue, the aim of which is to showcase the most relevant works in microfluidic/biomedical microdevices fabrication, from state-of-the-art contributions to critical reviews on the topic, which will highlight the new advances in this field. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

Dr. Qasem Ramadan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • new fabrication materials
  • fabrication techniques (molding, 3D printing, nanofabrication, hot embossing, etc.)
  • integration
  • sensor integration
  • 3D microfluidics
  • hybrid devices
  • membrane-based microfluidic devices
  • paper-based microfluidic devices
  • fluid handling and automation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 19740 KiB  
Article
Self-Sustaining Water Microdroplet Resonators Using 3D-Printed Microfluidics
by Parker A. Awerkamp, David Hill, Davin Fish, Kimi Wright, Brandt Bashaw, Gregory P. Nordin and Ryan M. Camacho
Micromachines 2024, 15(4), 423; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15040423 - 22 Mar 2024
Viewed by 557
Abstract
Microdroplet resonators provide an excellent tool for optical studies of water, but water microdroplets are difficult to maintain outside a carefully controlled environment. We present a method for maintaining a water microdroplet resonator on a 3D-printed hydrophobic surface in an ambient environment. The [...] Read more.
Microdroplet resonators provide an excellent tool for optical studies of water, but water microdroplets are difficult to maintain outside a carefully controlled environment. We present a method for maintaining a water microdroplet resonator on a 3D-printed hydrophobic surface in an ambient environment. The droplet is maintained through a passive microfluidic system that supplies water to the droplet through a vertical channel at a rate equivalent to its evaporation. In this manner, we are able to create and passively maintain water microdroplet resonators with quality factors as high as 3×108. Full article
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11 pages, 3877 KiB  
Communication
Microfabricated Nitinol Stent Retrievers with a Micro-Patterned Surface
by Shogo Kato, Yuzuki Ban, Takashi Ota and Norihisa Miki
Micromachines 2024, 15(2), 213; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15020213 - 31 Jan 2024
Viewed by 845
Abstract
Stent retrievers are medical devices that are designed to physically remove blood clots from within the blood vessels of the brain. This paper focuses on microfabricated nitinol (nickel–titanium alloy) stent retrievers, which feature micro-patterns on their surface to enhance the effectiveness of mechanical [...] Read more.
Stent retrievers are medical devices that are designed to physically remove blood clots from within the blood vessels of the brain. This paper focuses on microfabricated nitinol (nickel–titanium alloy) stent retrievers, which feature micro-patterns on their surface to enhance the effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy. A thick film of nitinol, which was 20 µm in thickness, was sputtered onto a substrate with a micro-patterned surface, using electroplated copper as the sacrificial layer. The nitinol film was released from the substrate and then thermally treated while folded into a cylindrical shape. In vitro experiments with pig blood clots demonstrated that the micro-patterns on the surface improved the efficacy of blood clot retrieval. Full article
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