Abstract
The development of organ-on-chip and biological scaffolds is currently requiring simpler methods for microstructure biocompatible materials in three dimensions, to fabricate structural and functional elements in biomaterials, or modify the physicochemical properties of desired substrates. Aiming at addressing this need, a low-power CD-DVD-Blu-ray laser pickup head was mounted on a programmable three-axis micro-displacement system in order to modify the surface of polymeric materials in a local fashion. Thanks to a specially-designed method using a strongly absorbing additive coating the materials of interest, it has been possible to establish and precisely control processes useful in microtechnology for biomedical applications. The system was upgraded with Blu-ray laser for additive manufacturing and ablation on a single platform. In this work, we present the application of these fabrication techniques to the development of biomimetic cellular culture platforms thanks to the simple integration of several features typically achieved with traditional, less cost-effective microtechnology methods in one step or through replica-molding. Our straightforward approach indeed enables great control of local laser microablation or polymerization for true on-demand biomimetic micropatterned designs in transparent polymers and hydrogels and is allowing integration of microfluidics, microelectronics, surface microstructuring, and transfer of superficial protein micropatterns on a variety of biocompatible materials.
Highlights
Biological cells are highly sensitive to geometrical cues and mechanical constraints from their microenvironment [1,2]
We present the recent progress made in structuring other transparent polymers that are widely available and useful in the construction of cell culture scaffolds and microfluidic platforms, either by direct laser etching using the near infrared (NIR) wavelength or direct laser writing using the Blu-ray (BR)
We report the successful patterning with micron-range features of poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS), poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA), Loctite 3525 (Loctite), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and poly-lactic acid (PLA), useful in the construction of biomimetic cell scaffolds
Summary
Biological cells are highly sensitive to geometrical cues and mechanical constraints from their microenvironment [1,2]. We present the recent progress made in structuring other transparent polymers that are widely available and useful in the construction of cell culture scaffolds and microfluidic platforms, either by direct laser etching using the near infrared (NIR) wavelength or direct laser writing using the Blu-ray (BR). We report the successful patterning with micron-range features of poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS), poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA), Loctite 3525 (Loctite), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and poly-lactic acid (PLA), useful in the construction of biomimetic cell scaffolds. These latest results help us demonstrate the great potential of our low-cost laser alternative for on-demand fabrication of cell culture scaffolds in biomedical applications at a low-cost
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