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Authors
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Männel, M. J. ; Baysak, E. ; Thiele, J.
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Title
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Fabrication of microfluidic devices for emulsion formation by microstereolithography
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Date
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10.05.2021
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Number
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59961
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Abstract
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Droplet microfluidics—the art and science of forming droplets—has been revolutionary for high-throughput screening, directed evolution, single-cell sequencing, and material design. However, traditional fabrication techniques for microfluidic devices suffer from several disadvantages, including multistep processing, expensive facilities, and limited three-dimensional (3D) design flexibility. High-resolution additive manufacturing—and in particular, projection micro-stereolithography (PµSL)—provides a promising path for overcoming these drawbacks. Similar to polydimethylsiloxane-based microfluidics 20 years ago, 3D printing methods, such as PµSL, have provided a path toward a new era of microfluidic device design. PµSL greatly simplifies the device fabrication process, especially the access to truly 3D geometries, is cost-effective, and it enables multimaterial processing. In this review, we discuss both the basics and recent innovations in PµSL; the material basis with emphasis on custom-made photopolymer formulations; multimaterial 3D printing; and, 3D-printed microfluidic devices for emulsion formation as our focus application. Our goal is to support researchers in setting up their own PµSL system to fabricate tailor-made microfluidics.
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Publisher
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Molecules
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Wikidata
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Citation
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Molecules 26 (2021) 2817
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DOI
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https://doi.org/10.3390/MOLECULES26092817
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Tags
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