Design, Fabrication and Computational Characterization of a 3D Micro-Valve Built by Multi-Photon Polymerization

Stratos Galanopoulos,Alexandros Selimis,Charalampos Schizas,Vasileia Melissinaki,Dimitris Karalekas,Maria Farsari,Nikoleta Chatzidai

doi:10.3390/mi5030505

Abstract

We report on the design, modeling and fabrication by multi-photon polymerization of a complex medical fluidic device. The physical dimensions of the built micro-valve prototype are compared to those of its computer-designed model. Important fabrication issues such as achieving high dimensional resolution and ability to control distortion due to shrinkage are presented and discussed. The operational performance of both multi-photon and CAD-created models under steady blood flow conditions was evaluated and compared through computational fluid dynamics analysis.

Highlights

Direct Laser Writing (DLW) by multi-photon polymerization (MPP) is a very promising technique for the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) structures with sub-micron resolution [1,2]
A popular class of materials employed in MPP is specially designed organic-inorganic hybrids prepared with the sol-gel method
The micro-valve design investigated in this work consists of three parts: the main cylindrical body and the two wings rotating around a cylindrical shaft, as can be seen in Figure 1a

Summary

Introduction

Direct Laser Writing (DLW) by multi-photon polymerization (MPP) is a very promising technique for the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) structures with sub-micron resolution [1,2]. When the beam of an ultra-fast (picosecond or femtosecond) laser is tightly focused into the volume of a transparent, photosensitive material, the polymerization process can be initiated by nonlinear. A popular class of materials employed in MPP is specially designed organic-inorganic hybrids prepared with the sol-gel method. Due to their optical transparency, electrochemical inertness, mechanical and optical stability, hybrid materials have found application in biology, medicine, photonics, microfluidics, and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) [5,6,7,8]

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Conclusion