Print your own membrane: direct rapid prototyping of polydimethylsiloxane

Lab Chip. 2014 Aug 7;14(15):2610-3. doi: 10.1039/c4lc00320a. Epub 2014 May 15.

Abstract

Polydimethylsiloxane is a translucent and biologically inert silicone material used in sealants, biomedical implants and microscale lab-on-a-chip devices. Furthermore, in membrane technology, polydimethylsiloxane represents a material for separation barriers as it has high permeabilities for various gases. The facile handling of two component formulations with a silicone base material, a catalyst and a small molecular weight crosslinker makes it widely applicable for soft-lithographic replication of two-dimensional device geometries, such as microfluidic chips or micro-contact stamps. Here, we develop a new technique to directly print polydimethylsiloxane in a rapid prototyping device, circumventing the need for masks or sacrificial mold production. We create a three-dimensional polydimethylsiloxane membrane for gas-liquid-contacting based on a Schwarz-P triple-periodic minimal-surface, which is inaccessible with common machining techniques. Direct 3D-printing of polydimethylsiloxane enables rapid production of novel chip geometries for a manifold of lab-on-a-chip applications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Coloring Agents / chemistry
  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes / chemistry*
  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes / radiation effects
  • Elastic Modulus
  • Equipment Design
  • Furans / chemistry
  • Lab-On-A-Chip Devices*
  • Materials Testing
  • Membranes, Artificial*
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Permeability
  • Phosphinic Acids / chemistry
  • Phosphinic Acids / radiation effects
  • Photochemical Processes
  • Photosensitizing Agents / chemistry
  • Photosensitizing Agents / radiation effects
  • Printing, Three-Dimensional*
  • Solvents / chemistry
  • Spectrophotometry
  • Surface Properties
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Coloring Agents
  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes
  • Furans
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Phosphinic Acids
  • Photosensitizing Agents
  • Solvents
  • tetrahydrofuran