Issue 8, 2019

A simple procedure to produce FDM-based 3D-printed microfluidic devices with an integrated PMMA optical window

Abstract

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is the lowest cost 3D-printing technology and has found application in microfluidics in the past few years. However, it lacks resolution and the ability to print transparent windows for optical detection. For this reason, we present a simple protocol to prepare 3D-printed microfluidic channels around 170 μm width and transparent windows using a 0.2 mm nozzle, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as the transparent substrate and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as the polymer filament. Due to the similar molecular structure of PLA and PMMA, outstanding bonding was achieved. After optimization of the printing settings, we found that a gap of 200 μm between the PMMA slide and the nozzle results in channels that present no leakage even with high flow rates of up to 2 mL min−1. As a proof of concept, we present bioanalytical applications for devices produced with this protocol, such as determination of nitrite, total proteins and nitric oxide, as well as microorganism visualization. We believe that this protocol can simplify the production of low-cost microfluidic devices containing transparent detection windows since it does not require tapes or glues, nor stopping the printing process to insert other materials, such as glass.

Graphical abstract: A simple procedure to produce FDM-based 3D-printed microfluidic devices with an integrated PMMA optical window

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Sep 2018
Accepted
08 Jan 2019
First published
09 Jan 2019

Anal. Methods, 2019,11, 1014-1020

A simple procedure to produce FDM-based 3D-printed microfluidic devices with an integrated PMMA optical window

L. P. Bressan, C. B. Adamo, R. F. Quero, D. P. de Jesus and J. A. F. da Silva, Anal. Methods, 2019, 11, 1014 DOI: 10.1039/C8AY02092B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements