3D Arbitrary Channel Fabrication for Lab on a Chip Applications using Chemical Decomposition

This article demonstrate a simple method to use of three-dimensionally (3D) printed molds that are chemically decomposable for rapid fabrication of complex and arbitrary microchannel geometries. These complex microchannel are unachievable through existing soft lithography techniques. The molds are printed directly from hand held 3D printing pen that can print in midair, making rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices possible in hours. PLA based copper filament is used to print the arbitrary channels. The printed channels are then placed inside PDMS and PDMS is cured. The cured sample is then immersed in chemical solution (Acetic Acid + Sodium Chloride+ Hydrogen peroxide), which decomposes the PLA based copper channel thus leaving an empty channel inside the PDMS block. This method enable precise control of various device geometries, such as the profile of the channel cross-section and variable channel diameters in a single device.