Comparison of selected processes for surface microstructuring of complex mould for an implanted device

Abstract

Polymer products with functional surfaces are applied in many fields such as medical devices and biotechnology. However, most technologies for the fabrication of microstructured functional surfaces are still limited to flat geometries or geometries with constant curvature. This paper describes and compares three approaches for fabricating micro- or nanostructured surfaces; those process chains are suitable for patterning of the surface of 3D shape cavity for injection moulding. The desired surface features have been approved by cell proliferation test. The first approach is to use prefabricated plate with microstructured surface as an insert inside the cavity. The second approach is to directly pattern the surface by a femtosecond laser combined with mask projection technique. The third approach is to produce the cavity part using an anodizing process followed by metal deposition, and in this way, sub-microfeatures were obtained all over the cavity surface. The aim of this paper is to find solutions to implementing the desired features on the entire surfaces of a 3D-shaped ring; this research will also benefit the production of other complex parts with functional micro- or nanostructured surface.