Abstract
Laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) acts as a novel alternative to incumbent plotting techniques such as inkjet printing due to its ability to precisely deposit and position picoliter-sized droplets while being gentle enough to preserve sensitive structures within the ink. Materials as simple as screen printing ink to complex eukaryotic cells have been printed with applications spanning from microelectronics to tissue engineering. Biotechnology can benefit from this technique due to the efficient use of low volumes of reagent and the compatibility with a wide range of rheological properties. In addition, LIFT can be performed in a simple lab environment, not requiring vacuum or other extreme conditions. Although the basic apparatus is simple, many strategies exist to optimize the performance considering the ink and the desired pattern. The basic mechanism is similar between studies so the large number of variants can be summarized into a couple of categories and reported on with respect to their specific applications. In particular, precise and gentle deposition of complex molecules and eukaryotic cells represent the unique abilities of this technology. LIFT has demonstrated not only marked improvements in the quality of sensors and related medical devices over those manufactured with incumbent technologies but also great applicability in tissue engineering due to the high viability of printed cells.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adrian, F. J., J. Bohandy, B. F. Kim, A. N. Jette, and P. Thompson. A study of the mechanism of metal deposition by the laser-induced forward transfer process. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 5:1490–1494, 1987.
Barron, J. A., P. Wu, H. D. Ladouceur, and B. R. Ringeisen. Biological laser printing: a novel technique for creating heterogeneous 3-dimensional cell patterns. Biomed. Microdevices 6:139–147, 2004.
Barron, J. A., H. D. Young, D. D. Dlott, M. M. Darfler, D. B. Krizman, and B. R. Ringeisen. Printing of protein microarrays via a capillary-free fluid. Proteomics 5:4138–4144, 2005.
Boulton-Stone, J., and J. Blake. Gas bubbles bursting at a free surface. J. Fluid Mech. 254:437–466, 1993.
Boutopoulos, C., E. Touloupakis, I. Pezzotti, M. T. Giardi, and I. Zergioti. Direct laser immobilization of photosynthetic material on screen printed electrodes for amperometric biosensor. Appl. Phys. Lett. 98:093703, 2011.
Boutopoulos, C., V. Tsouti, D. Goustouridis, S. Chatzandroulis, and I. Zergioti. Liquid phase direct laser printing of polymers for chemical sensing applications. Appl. Phys. Lett. 93:191109, 2008.
Brasz, C. F., J. H. Yang, and C. B. Arnold. Tilting of adjacent laser-induced liquid jets. Microfluid. Nanofluidics 18:185–197, 2015.
Brown, M. S., C. F. Brasz, Y. Ventikos, and C. B. Arnold. Impulsively actuated jets from thin liquid films for high-resolution printing applications. J. Fluid Mech. 709:341–370, 2012.
Brown, M. S., N. T. Kattamis, and C. B. Arnold. Time-resolved dynamics of laser-induced micro-jets from thin liquid films. Microfluid. Nanofluidics 11:199–207, 2011.
Chrisey, D. B., A. Pique, J. Fitz-gerald, R. C. Y. Auyeung, R. McGill, H. Wu, and M. Duignan. New approach to laser direct writing active and passive mesoscopic circuit elements. Appl. Surf. Sci. 154–155:593–600, 2000.
Colina, M., M. Duocastella, P. Serra, and J. L. Morenza. Laser-induced forward transfer of liquids: study of the droplet ejection process. J. Appl. Phys. 99:084909, 2006.
Dinca, V., A. Patrascioiu, J. M. Fernández-pradas, J. L. Morenza, and P. Serra. Influence of solution properties in the laser forward transfer of liquids. Appl. Surf. Sci. 258:9379–9384, 2012.
Doraiswamy, A., R. J. Narayan, M. L. Harris, S. B. Qadri, R. Modi, and D. B. Chrisey. Laser microfabrication of hydroxyapatite-osteoblast-like cell composites. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. A 80:635–643, 2007.
Doraiswamy, A., R. J. Narayan, T. Lippert, L. Urech, A. Wokaun, M. Nagel, B. Hopp, M. Dinescu, R. Modi, R. C. Y. Auyeung, and D. B. Chrisey. Excimer laser forward transfer of mammalian cells using a novel triazene absorbing layer. Appl. Surf. Sci. 252:4743–4747, 2006.
Duocastella, M., J. M. Fernández-Pradas, J. L. Morenza, and P. Serra. Time-resolved imaging of the laser forward transfer of liquids. J. Appl. Phys. 106:084907, 2009.
Duocastella, M., J. M. Fernández-Pradas, P. Serra, and J. L. Morenza. Jet formation in the laser forward transfer of liquids. Appl. Phys. A 93:453–456, 2008.
Duocastella, M., A. Patrascioiu, J. M. Fernández-Pradas, J. L. Morenza, and P. Serra. On the correlation between droplet volume and irradiation conditions in the laser forward transfer of liquids. Appl. Phys. A 109:5–14, 2012.
Duocastella, M., H. Kim, P. Serra, and A. Piqué. Optimization of laser printing of nanoparticle suspensions for microelectronic applications. Appl. Phys. A 106:471–478, 2012.
Fardel, R., M. Nagel, F. Nuesch, T. Lippert, and A. Wokaun. Energy balance in a laser-induced forward transfer process studied by shadowgraphy. J. Phys. Chem. C 113:11628–11633, 2009.
Gaebel, R., N. Ma, J. Liu, J. Guan, L. Koch, C. Klopsch, M. Gruene, A. Toelk, W. Wang, P. Mark, F. Wang, B. Chichkov, W. Li, and G. Steinhoff. Biomaterials patterning human stem cells and endothelial cells with laser printing for cardiac regeneration. Biomaterials 32:9218–9230, 2011.
Gruene, M., M. Pflaum, C. Hess, S. Diamantouros, S. Schlie, A. Deiwick, L. Koch, M. Wilhelmi, S. Jockenhoevel, A. Haverich, and B. Chichkov. Laser printing of three-dimensional multicellular arrays for studies of cell—cell and cell—environment interactions. Tissue Eng. Part C 17:973–982, 2011.
Gruene, M., C. Unger, L. Koch, A. Deiwick, and B. Chichkov. Dispensing pico to nanolitre of a natural hydrogel by laser-assisted bioprinting. Biomed. Eng. Online 10:19, 2011.
Gudapati, H., J. Yan, Y. Huang, and D. B. Chrisey. Alginate gelation-induced cell death during laser-assisted cell printing. Biofabrication 6:035022, 2014.
Guillemot, F., A. Souquet, S. Catros, B. Guillotin, J. Lopez, M. Faucon, B. Pippenger, R. Bareille, M. Rémy, S. Bellance, P. Chabassier, J. C. Fricain, and J. Amédée. High-throughput laser printing of cells and biomaterials for tissue engineering. Acta Biomater. 6:2494–2500, 2010.
Guillemot, F., B. Guillotin, A. Fontaine, M. Ali, S. Catros, V. Kériquel, J.-C. Fricain, M. Rémy, R. Bareille, and J. Amédée-Vilamitjana. Laser-assisted bioprinting to deal with tissue complexity in regenerative medicine. MRS Bull. 36:1015–1019, 2011.
Guillotin, B., S. Catros, V. Keriquel, A. Souquet, A. Fontaine, M. Remy, J. C. Fricain, and F. Guillemot. Rapid Prototyping of Complex Tissues with Laser Assisted Bioprinting (LAB). Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing Limited, pp. 156–175, 2014. doi:10.1533/9780857097217.156.
Hopp, B., D. Ph, T. Smausz, N. Kresz, and M. Sc. Survival and proliferative ability of various living cell types after laser-induced forward transfer. Tissue Eng. 11:1817–1823, 2005.
Hopp, B., T. Smausz, G. Szabo, L. Kolozsvari, D. Kafetzopoulos, C. Fotakis, and A. Nogradi. Femtosecond laser printing of living cells using absorbing film-assisted laser- induced forward transfer. Opt. Eng. 51:014302, 2013.
Kaji, T., S. Ito, H. Miyasaka, Y. Hosokawa, H. Masuhara, C. Shukunami, and Y. Hiraki. Nondestructive micropatterning of living animal cells using focused femtosecond laser-induced impulsive force. Appl. Phys. Lett. 91:023904, 2007.
Koch, L., M. Gruene, C. Unger, and B. Chichkov. Laser assisted cell printing. Curr. Pharm. Biotechnol. 14:91–97, 2012.
Koch, L., A. Deiwick, S. Schlie, S. Michael, M. Gruene, V. Coger, D. Zychlinski, A. Schambach, K. Reimers, P. M. Vogt, and B. Chichkov. Skin tissue generation by laser cell printing. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 109:1855–1863, 2012.
Kuznetsov, A. I., C. Unger, J. Koch, and B. N. Chichkov. Laser-induced jet formation and droplet ejection from thin metal films. Appl. Phys. A 106:479–487, 2012.
Lewis, B. R., E. C. Kinzel, N. M. Laurendeau, R. P. Lucht, and X. Xu. Planar laser imaging and modeling of matrix-assisted pulsed-laser evaporation direct write in the bubble regime. J. Appl. Phys. 100:033107, 2006.
Lin, Y., G. Huang, Y. Huang, T.-R. J. Tzeng, and D. Chrisey. Effect of laser fluence in laser-assisted direct writing of human colon cancer cell. Rapid Prototyp. J. 16:202–208, 2010.
Lin, Y., Y. Huang, and D. B. Chrisey. Metallic foil-assisted laser cell printing. J. Biomech. Eng. 133:025001, 2011.
Lippert, T., A. Wokaunt, J. Stebani, O. Nuyken, and J. Ihlemann. Triazene polymers designed for excimer laser ablation. Die Angew. Makromol. Chemie 206:97–110, 1993.
Mathews, S. A., M. Duignan, P. Atanassova, H. Denham, R. Modi, and R. Auyeung. An integrated tool for rapid prototyping of electronic circuits using a laser direct write technique. In: Symposia Q/EE Electroative Polymers and Rapid Prototyping. MRS Proceedings, Vol. 698, p. Q1.7.1, 2001. doi:10.1557/PROC-698-Q1.7.1.
Mattle, T., A. Hintennach, T. Lippert, and A. Wokaun. Laser induced forward transfer of SnO2 for sensing applications using different precursors systems. Appl. Phys. A 110:309–316, 2013.
Mattle, T., J. Shaw-stewart, A. Hintennach, C. W. Schneider, T. Lippert, and A. Wokaun. Shadowgraphic investigations into the laser-induced forward transfer of different SnO2 precursor films. Appl. Surf. Sci. 2012. doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.11.146.
Mézel, C., L. Hallo, A. Souquet, J. Breil, D. Hébert, and F. Guillemot. Self-consistent modeling of jet formation process in the nanosecond laser pulse regime. Phys. Plasmas 16:123112, 2009.
Michael, S., H. Sorg, C. Peck, L. Koch, A. Deiwick, B. Chichkov, P. M. Vogt, and K. Reimers. Tissue engineered skin substitutes created by laser- assisted bioprinting form skin-like structures in the dorsal skin fold chamber in mice. PLoS One 8:e57741, 2013.
Nicolae, I., C. Viespe, and C. Grigoriu. Nanocomposite sensitive polymeric films for SAW sensors deposited by the MAPLE direct write technique. Sens. Actuat. B Chem. 158:418–422, 2011.
Ovsianikov, A., M. Gruene, M. Pflaum, L. Koch, and F. Maiorana. Laser printing of cells into 3D scaffolds. Biofabrication 2:014104, 2010.
Palla-Papavlu, A., V. Dinca, T. Lippert, and M. Dinescu. Laser induced forward transfer for materials patterning. Rom. Reports Phys. 63:1285–1301, 2011.
Patrascioiu, A., M. Duocastella, J. M. Fernandez-Pradas, J. L. Morenza, and P. Serra. Liquids microprinting through a novel film-free femtosecond laser based technique. Appl. Surf. Sci. 257:5190–5194, 2011.
Patrascioiu, A., J. M. Fernández-Pradas, J. L. Morenza, and P. Serra. Microdroplet deposition through a film-free laser forward printing technique. Appl. Surf. Sci. 258:9412–9416, 2012.
Patrascioiu, A., C. Florian, J. M. Fernandez-Pradas, J. L. Morenza, G. Hennig, P. Delaporte, and P. Serra. Interaction between jets during laser-induced forward transfer. Appl. Phys. Lett. 105:014101, 2014.
Piqué, A., D. B. Chrisey, R. C. Y. Auyeung, S. Lakeou, R. Chung, R. A. Mcgill, P. Wu, M. Duignan, J. Fitz-Gerald, and H. Wu. Laser direct writing of circuit elements and sensors. In: Proc. SPIE 3618, Laser Applications in Microelectronic and Optoelectronic Manufacturing IV (15 July 1999). doi:10.1117/12.352695.
Pique, A., D. B. Chrisey, J. Fitz-Gerald, R. A. Mcgill, R. Auyeung, H. D. Wu, S. Lakeou, V. Nguyen, R. Chung, and M. Duignan. Direct writing of electronic and sensor materials using a laser transfer technique. J. Mater. Res. 15:1872–1875, 2000.
Piqué, A., D. W. Weir, P. K. Wu, B. Pratap, C. B. Arnold, B. R. Ringeisen, R. A. McGill, R. C. Y. Auyeung, R. A. Kant, and D. B. Chrisey. Direct-write of sensor devices by a laser forward transfer technique. In: Proc. SPIE 4637, Photon Processing in Microelectronics and Photonics (18 June 2002). doi:10.1117/12.470642.
Ringeisen, B., P. Wu, H. Kim, A. Piqué, R. Auyeung, H. Young, and D. Chrisey. Picoliter-scale protein microarrays by laser direct write. Biotechnol. Prog. 18:1126–1129, 2002.
Ringeisen, B. R., H. Kim, J. A. Barron, D. B. Krizman, D. B. Chrisey, S. Jackman, R. Y. C. Auyeung, and B. J. Spargo. Laser printing of pluripotent embryonal carcinoma cells. Tissue Eng. 10:483–491, 2004.
Robinson, P. B., J. R. Blake, T. Kodama, A. Shima, and Y. Tomita. Interaction of cavitation bubbles with a free surface. J. Appl. Phys. 89:8225–8237, 2001.
Schiele, N. R., D. B. Chrisey, and D. T. Corr. Gelatin-based laser direct-write technique for the precise spatial patterning of cells. Tissue Eng. Part C 17:289–298, 2011.
Serra, P., M. Duocastella, J. M. Fernández-Pradas, and J. L. Morenza. Liquids microprinting through laser-induced forward transfer. Appl. Surf. Sci. 255:5342–5345, 2009.
Tekin, E., P. J. Smith, and U. S. Schubert. Inkjet printing as a deposition and patterning tool for polymers and inorganic particles. Soft Matter 4:703, 2008.
Touloupakis, E., C. Boutopoulos, K. Buonasera, I. Zergioti, and M. T. Giardi. A photosynthetic biosensor with enhanced electron transfer generation realized by laser printing technology. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 402:3237–3244, 2012.
Tsekenis, G., M. Chatzipetrou, J. Tanner, S. Chatzandroulis, D. Thanos, D. Tsoukalas, and I. Zergioti. Surface functionalization studies and direct laser printing of oligonucleotides toward the fabrication of a micromembrane DNA capacitive biosensor. Sens. Actuat. B. Chem. 175:123–131, 2012.
Unger, C., M. Gruene, L. Koch, J. Koch, and B. N. Chichkov. Time-resolved imaging of hydrogel printing via laser-induced forward transfer. Appl. Phys. A 103:271–277, 2010.
Wu, P. K., B. R. Ringeisen, J. Callahan, M. Brooks, D. M. Bubb, H. D. Wu, A. Pique, B. Spargo, R. A. Mcgill, and D. B. Chrisey. The deposition, structure, pattern deposition, and activity of biomaterial thin-films by matrix-assisted pulsed-laser evaporation (MAPLE) and MAPLE direct write. Thin Solid Films 398–399:607–614, 2001.
Yan, J., Y. Huang, and D. B. Chrisey. Laser-assisted printing of alginate long tubes and annular constructs. Biofabrication 5:105002, 2013.
Yan, J., Y. Huang, C. Xu, and D. B. Chrisey. Effects of fluid properties and laser fluence on jet formation during laser direct writing of glycerol solution. J. Appl. Phys. 112:083105, 2012.
Young, D., R. C. Y. Auyeung, A. Piqué, D. B. Chrisey, and D. D. Dlott. Time-resolved optical microscopy of a laser-based forward transfer process. Appl. Phys. Lett. 78:3169, 2001.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge discussions with Lothar Koch.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Associate Editor Jos Malda oversaw the review of this article.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nguyen, A.K., Narayan, R.J. Liquid-Phase Laser Induced Forward Transfer for Complex Organic Inks and Tissue Engineering. Ann Biomed Eng 45, 84–99 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-016-1617-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-016-1617-3