Fabrication of Biocompatible Monolithic Microchannels with High Pressure-Resistance Using Direct Polymerization of PEG-Modified PMMA
Year: 2014
Authors: De Marco C., Credi C., Briatico-Vangosa F., Bianchi E., Ciftlik AT., Gijs M., Dubini G., Levi M., Turri S.
Autors Affiliation: Politecn Milan, Dipartimento Chim Mat Ingn Chim Giulio Natta, I-20133 Milan, Italy; Ecole Polytech Fed Lausanne, Lab Microsyst, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Abstract: Withstanding high pressures in polymeric microchannels is an important requirement for many biological applications. Here, a simple direct polymerization through a polyester photomask is applied to obtain monolithic polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) (PEGMA) microchannels, showing the ability to withstand pressure up to 12 MPa in burst pressure tests. The ability of withstanding high pressures is observed to increase with increasing ratio between the thickness of the cover polymer layer forming the microchannel lid and the width of the microchannel. A simplified finite element modeling model of the burst pressure test is set up to interpret the experimental findings. The outcomes of the modeling activity, along with direct scanning electron microscopy observation of the fracture surfaces, confirm the effectiveness of the polymerization method for the production of monolithic PEGMA microchannels.
Journal/Review: JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE
Volume: 131 (21) Pages from: 41031-1 to: 41031-6
More Information: The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Fondazione CARIPLO (Contract no. 2010-0635) and the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (Programme Prin 2008). The authors thank Luca Masucci from GDP Prepress srl, Pero (Milan), for kindly providing the polyester photomasks. The authors also thank Dr. Francesco Caimmi for helpful discussions on the FEM model.KeyWords: biomedical applications; microfluidics; theory and modelingDOI: 10.1002/app.41031ImpactFactor: 1.768
