3D printing direct to industrial roll-to-roll casting for fast prototyping of scalable microfluidic systems.

Microfluidic technologies have enormous potential to offer breakthrough solutions across a wide range of applications. However, the rate of scale-up and commercialization of these technologies has lagged significantly behind promising breakthrough developments in the lab, due at least in part to the problems presented by transitioning from benchtop fabrication methods to mass-manufacturing. In this work, we develop and validate a method to create functional microfluidic prototype devices using 3D printed masters in an industrial-scale roll-to-roll continuous casting process. There were no significant difference in mixing performance between the roll-to-roll cast devices and the PDMS controls in fluidic mixing tests. Furthermore, the casting process provided information on the suitability of the prototype microfluidic patterns for scale-up. This work represents an important step in the realization of high-volume prototyping and manufacturing of microfluidic patterns for use across a broad range of applications.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

This work was financially supported by and conducted in collaboration with Sappi North America, Inc. The funder provided access to the roll-to-roll casting equipment and employees, including CB, to run the equipment and troubleshoot, as well as funds for materials and supplies. The funder did not play any role in the study design, analysis, interpretation of the data, writing of the paper, or the decision to submit for publication. This affiliation and collaboration does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.