FDM 3D Printing of High-Pressure, Heat-Resistant, Transparent Microfluidic Devices

Transparent
surfaces within microfluidic devices are essential
for accurate quantification of chemical, biological, and mechanical
interactions. Here, we report how to create low-cost, rapid 3D-printed
microfluidic devices that are optically free from artifacts and have
transparent surfaces suitable for visualizing a variety of fluid phenomenon.
The methodology described here can be used for creating high-pressure
microfluidic systems (significantly higher than PDMS–glass
bonding). We develop methods for annealing Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA)
microfluidic devices demonstrating heat resistance typically not achievable
with other plastic materials. We show DNA melting and subsequent fluorescent
imaging analysis, opening the door to other high-temperature applications.
The FDM techniques demonstrated here allow for fabrication of microfluidic
devices for precise visualization of interfacial dynamics, whether
mixing between two laminar streams or droplet tracking. In addition
to these characterizations, we include a printer troubleshooting guide
and printing recipes for device fabrication to facilitate FDM printing
for microfluidic device development.