{"id":85989,"date":"2020-10-09T23:51:56","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T20:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/researchers-3-d-print-unique-micro-scale-fluid-channels-used-for-medical-testing\/"},"modified":"2020-10-09T23:51:56","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T20:51:56","slug":"researchers-3-d-print-unique-micro-scale-fluid-channels-used-for-medical-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/researchers-3-d-print-unique-micro-scale-fluid-channels-used-for-medical-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"#Researchers 3-D print unique micro-scale fluid channels used for medical testing"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Researchers 3-D print unique micro-scale fluid channels used for medical testing<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\n Researchers at the University of Minnesota are the first to 3D print microfluidic channels on a curved surface, providing the initial step for someday printing them directly on the skin for real-time sensing of bodily fluids. Credit: McAlpine Group, University of Minnesota
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In a groundbreaking new study, researchers at the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, have 3-D printed unique fluid channels at the micron scale that could automate production of diagnostics, sensors, and assays used for a variety of medical tests and other app<\/a>lications.<\/p>\n

The team is the first to 3-D print these structures on a curved surface, providing the initial step for someday printing them directly on the skin for real-time sensing of bodily fluids. The research is published in Science<\/a> Advances<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Microfluidics is a rapidly growing field involving the control of fluid flows at the micron scale (one millionth of a meter). Microfluidics are used in a wide range of application areas including environmental sensing, medical diagnostics (such as COVID-19 and cancer), pregnancy testing, drug screening and delivery, and other biological assays.<\/p>\n

The global microfluidics market value is currently estimated in the billions of dollars. Microfluidic devices are typically fabricated in a controlled-environment cleanroom using a complex, multi-step technique called photolithography. The fabrication process involves a silicone liquid that is flowed over a patterned surface and then cured so that the patterns form channels in the solidified silicone slab.<\/p>\n

In this new study, the microfluidic channels are created in a single step using 3-D printing. The team used a custom-built 3-D printer to directly print the microfluidic channels on a surface in an open lab environment. The channels are about 300 microns in diameter\u2014about three times the size of a human hair (one one-hundredth of an inch). The team showed that the fluid flow through the channels could be controlled, pumped, and re-directed using a series<\/a> of valves.<\/p>\n

Researchers at the University of Minnesota are the first to 3D print microfluidic channels on a curved surface, providing the initial step for someday printing them directly on the skin for real-time sensing of bodily fluids. Credit: McAlpine Group, University of Minnesota<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Printing these microfluidic channels outside of a cleanroom setting could provide for robotic-based automation and portability in producing these devices. For the first time, the researchers were also able to print microfluidics directly onto a curved surface. In addition, they integrated them with electronic sensors for lab-on-a-chip sensing capabilities.<\/p>\n

“This new effort opens up numerous future possibilities for microfluidic devices,” said Michael McAlpine, a University of Minnesota mechanical engineering professor and senior researcher on the study. “Being able to 3-D print these devices without a cleanroom means that diagnostic tools could be printed by a doctor right in their office or printed remotely by soldiers in the field.”<\/p>\n

But McAlpine said the future is even more compelling.<\/p>\n

“Being able to print on a curved surface also opens up many new possibilities and uses for the devices, including printing microfluidics directly on the skin for real-time sensing of bodily fluids and functions,” said McAlpine, who holds the Kuhrmeyer Family Chair Professorship in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.\n <\/p>\n\n

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New discovery allows 3-D printing of sensors directly on expanding organs\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n More information:<\/strong>
\n “3D printed self-supporting elastomeric structures for multifunctional microfluidics,” Science Advances<\/i> (2020). DOI: 10.1126\/sciadv.abc9846<\/a> , advances.sciencemag.org\/content\/6\/41\/eabc9846<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n
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\n University of Minnesota
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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Researchers 3-D print unique micro-scale fluid channels used for medical testing (2020, October 9)
\n retrieved 9 October 2020
\n from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news<\/a>\/2020-10-d-unique-micro-scale-fluid-channels.html<\/p>\n

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