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In this study, we investigated the effect of printing orientation and laser spot size on fabrication of embedded microchannels by SLA. For this purpose, rectangular microchannels of width ranging between 210 µm and 1160 µm were printed in acrylic based photopolymer Clear™ resin. Printings were done by using Formlabs Form 2 desktop printer with laser spot diameter of 160 µm. Results showed that, channels with 460 µm design width could be printed to yield 425±14 µm wide channels, which indicates the lower limit of the width of the microchannel that could be fabricated by using this particular printer. We also observed that channels should be oriented perpendicular to printing plane to allow uncured resin to flow out of the channels.

International Congress on 3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing) Technologies and Digital Industry
3D-PTC2019

Ender Yıldırım Ulaş Yaman M. A. Sahir Arıkan

In this study, we present a technique for generation of hydrogel microdroplets as bioink for droplet deposition of tissues and organs. We also characterized the size and dispersion of the microdroplets. For this purpose, we designed a flow-focusing droplet generator chip in which uncured hydrogel flowing through a 120 µm wide channel was pinched at two sides of the stream of oil flowing along 300 µm wide channels. The chip was fabricated by ultrasonically embossing the features on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) plate. We used polyethylene (glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) as the hydrogel and silicone oil as the pinching fluid. PEGDA was preferred since it provides an inherently inert matrix for cell growth. Before dispensing the liquids into the chip, PEGDA was mixed with photoinitiator (Irgacure 2959) to make PEGDA curable under UV exposure. The results showed that PEGDA droplets of 7419 µm diameter could be generated with average dispersion of 42762 µm between two successive droplets at a rate of about 600 Hz. After generating, droplets were cured in the chip by exposing under UV light for 1 minute. We have shown that single cells could be encapsulated in hydrogel microdroplets.

International Congress on 3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing) Technologies and Digital Industry
3D-PTC2019

Ender Yıldırım Ferah Sucularlı M. A. Sahir Arıkan