Date of Graduation

5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Advisor/Mentor

Stenken, Julie A.

Committee Member/Reader

Adams, Paul

Committee Member/Second Reader

Nino, Michael

Committee Member/Third Reader

Levine, Bill

Abstract

The growing field of stereolithography 3D printing has welcomed a new age ofmicrofluidic device fabrication techniques. When compared to previous planar fabrication techniques such as soft-lithography, stereolithography 3D printing offers highly automated procedures, reduced fabrication times, and greater complexity of device features. To date, the greatest tradeoff for 3D printing in microfluidic device fabrication is poorer resolution when compared to soft-lithography which can produce feature sizes on the nanometer scale. The poorer resolution of 3D printing limits the feasible size of features. While highly sophisticated 3D printers are capable of achieving sub 10 μm resolution, these instruments are incredibly expensive costing upwards of $100,000. This project aimed to achieve sub 10 μm resolution on an inexpensive (<$500) commercially available DMD 3D printer with a resolution of 80 μm. Through a series of modifications, the resolution of this printer was reduced to 9.375 μm. Using this modified printer, the complexity and functionality of 3D printed microfluidic devices was greatly improved.

Keywords

Microfluidics; Microstereolithography; 3D printing; Microsampling

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