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3D printing: an emerging tool for novel microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip applications

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Abstract

In the past few years, 3D printing technology has witnessed an explosive growth, penetrating various aspects of our lives. Current best-in-class 3D printers can fabricate micrometer scale objects, which has made fabrication of microfluidic devices possible. The highest achievable resolution is already at nanometer scale, which is continuing to drop. Since geometric complexity is not a concern for 3D printing, novel 3D microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip systems that are otherwise impossible to produce with traditional 2D microfabrication technology have started to emerge in recent years. In this review, we first introduce the basics of 3D printing technology for the microfluidic community and then summarize its emerging applications in creating novel microfluidic devices. We foresee widespread utilization of 3D printing for future developments in microfluidic engineering and lab-on-a-chip technology.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by a University of Illinois at Chicago Curriculum and Instruction Grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Alireza Ahmadian Yazdi, Adam Popma, William Wong, Tammy Nguyen, Yayue Pan & Jie Xu

Authors
  1. Alireza Ahmadian Yazdi
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  2. Adam Popma
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  3. William Wong
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  4. Tammy Nguyen
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  5. Yayue Pan
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  6. Jie Xu
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yayue Pan or Jie Xu.

Appendix

Appendix

Glossary of terms in manufacturing technologies

3DP

3 dimensional printing

A printing method in which a binder is printed onto a powder bed to fabricate a part

CLIP

Continuous liquid interface production

A variation of SL in which the 3D printing of parts is continuous and faster

EBM

Electron beam melting

A 3D printing method similar to LENS, which uses electron laser beam to melt the powder beds

EFAB

Electrochemical fabrication

A layer-by-layer hybrid process comprising of electrochemical deposition and subtractive planarization to fabricate microstructures

FDM

Fused deposition modeling

A 3D printing method based on extruding polymer that is fed as solid filament to the device

FLA

Femtosecond laser ablation

A fabrication technique based on material removal from a target of interest using femtosecond laser beam

LENS

Laser engineered net shaping

A 3D printing method which employs powder delivery through a nozzle and subsequent laser melting the layers of the finished part

LOM

Laminated object manufacturing

A 3D printing method based on laser cutting the layers of the finished part

MIP-SL

Mask image projection SL

A variation of SL in which a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) is used to project the 2D mask images on the resin surface

Polyjet

–

A 3D printing method based on jetting photopolymers to finally being cured by UV light

Prometal

–

A 3D printing method that uses an inkjet printing head to deposit binder onto a metal powder bed to form each layer of the finished part

SL

Stereolithography

A 3D printing method based on curing layers of liquid photopolymer by exposing them to light (UV)

SLM

Selective laser melting

A 3D printing method based on selectively laser melting parts of a powder bed to fabricate layers of the finished component

SLS

Selective laser sintering

A 3D printing method based on selectively laser sintering parts of a powder bed to fabricate layers of the finished component

TPP

Two-photon polymerization

A variation of SL in which the liquid photopolymer is cured using femtosecond laser energy

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Yazdi, A.A., Popma, A., Wong, W. et al. 3D printing: an emerging tool for novel microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip applications. Microfluid Nanofluid 20, 50 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-016-1715-4

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