Design Principles for Laser-Printed Macrofluidics

This paper presents a novel method for fabricating fluidic circuits using laser printing technology. The method allows for rapid prototyping of macrofluidic devices with control over fluid manipulation and environmental conditions. We employed a high-resolution laser cutter to etch fluidic channels...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInventions (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 4; p. 68
Main Authors Gome, Gilad, Benny, Ofra, Shoseyov, Oded, Giron, Jonathan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2024
Subjects
3-D printers
Biomedical engineering
bioreactors
Colleges & universities
Design
fabrication
Fermentation
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
Fluidic circuits
Fluidics
Interfaces
Laboratories
Lasers
Materials handling
Microbiology
Microorganisms
Performance evaluation
R&D
Rapid prototyping
Research & development
Sensors
Software
Substrates
Systems stability
Technical education
Tensile strength
Tissue engineering
United States > US
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Summary:This paper presents a novel method for fabricating fluidic circuits using laser printing technology. The method allows for rapid prototyping of macrofluidic devices with control over fluid manipulation and environmental conditions. We employed a high-resolution laser cutter to etch fluidic channels into various substrates, optimizing parameters such as laser power, speed, and substrate material. Our results demonstrate excellent performance in controlling fluid flow and maintaining environmental conditions, handling a wide range of fluids and flow rates. The devices were tested in multiple settings such as with high school students and in research laboratories in universities. We tested the laser-printed macrofluidcs mechanically for durability. We present previous works in microbiology with plants, microbial, and mammalian cell lines showing reliable operation with minimal leakage and consistent fluid dynamics. The versatility and scalability of this approach make it a promising tool for advancing research and innovation in fluidics, providing a robust platform for growing, manipulating, and experimenting with diverse biological systems from cells to whole organisms. We conclude that laser-printed macrofluidics can significantly contribute to fields such as biomedical research, synthetic biology, tissue engineering, and STEM education.
ISSN:2411-5134
2411-5134
DOI:10.3390/inventions9040068