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Melt Electrowriting of Isomalt for High‐Resolution Templating of Embedded Microchannels
Author(s) -
Nadernezhad Ali,
Ryma Matthias,
Genç Hatice,
Cicha Iwona,
Jüngst Tomasz,
Groll Jürgen
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced materials technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.184
H-Index - 42
ISSN - 2365-709X
DOI - 10.1002/admt.202100221
Subject(s) - microchannel , fabrication , polydimethylsiloxane , materials science , microfluidics , nanotechnology , thermal stability , flexibility (engineering) , fiber , composite material , chemical engineering , medicine , statistics , alternative medicine , mathematics , pathology , engineering
Fabrication of microchannels using 3D printing of sugars as fugitive material is explored in different fields, including microfluidics. However, establishing reproducible methods for the controlled production of sugar structures with sub‐100 μm dimensions remains a challenge. This study pioneers the processing of sugars by melt electrowriting (MEW) enabling the fabrication of structures with so far unprecedented resolution from Isomalt. Based on a systematic variation of process parameters, fibers with diameters down to 20 μm can be fabricated. The flexibility in the adjustment of fiber diameter by on‐demand alteration of MEW parameters enables generating constructs with perfusable channels within polydimethylsiloxane molds. These channels have a diameter that can be adjusted from 30 to 200 μm in a single design. Taken together, the experiments show that MEW strongly benefits from the thermal and physical stability of Isomalt, providing a robust platform for the fabrication of small‐diameter embedded microchannel systems.