Fabricating and Laminating Films with Through-Holes and Engraved/Protruding Structures for 3D Micro/Nanofluidic Platforms

Micro/nanofluidic devices have become popular for delicately processing biological, material, and chemical samples. However, their reliance on 2D fabrication schemes has hindered further innovation. Here, a 3D manufacturing method is proposed through the innovation of laminated object manufacturing (LOM), which involves the selection of building materials as well as the development of molding and lamination techniques. Fabrication of interlayer films is demonstrated with both multi-layered micro-/nanostructures and through-holes, using an injection molding approach and establishing strategic principles of film design. Utilization of the multi-layered through-hole films in LOM allows reducing the number of alignments and laminations by at least two times compared to conventional LOM. Using a dual-curing resin for film fabrication, a surface-treatment-free and collapse-free lamination technique is shown for constructing 3D multiscale micro/nanofluidic devices with ultralow aspect ratio nanochannels. The 3D manufacturing method enables the development of a nanochannel-based attoliter droplet generator capable of 3D parallelization for mass production, which implies the remarkable potential to extend numerous existing 2D micro/nanofluidic platforms into a 3D framework.

Automated summary

Micro/nanofluidic devices have been widely used for processing biological, material, and chemical samples, but their reliance on 2D fabrication schemes has limited further innovation. This study proposes a 3D manufacturing method using laminated object manufacturing (LOM) that involves material selection, molding, and lamination techniques. The fabrication method demonstrates the production of interlayer films with multi-layered micro-/nanostructures and through-holes. By using the LOM approach, the number of alignments and laminations can be reduced compared to conventional methods. The 3D manufacturing method enables the development of a nanochannel-based droplet generator for mass production.