SBIR Phase I: Biosensor Compatible Polymers for Use in a Commercial 3D Microdevice Printer

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在通过开发高效双光子引发剂聚二甲基硅氧烷S(PDMS)来实现用于生物传感应用的3D微型设备打印机的商业化。Auma实验室开发的微型设备打印机LLC是基于双光子直写的。Auma打印机与目前的(非商业)直写机不同，因为它的设计是对来自PDMS的生物特定材料进行图案处理，面积可达1000平方毫米，深度可达10毫米，翻译速度可达数十厘米/秒。这种尺寸和速率是生物传感器领域所需要的，其中需要在培养皿、载玻片、内部微流控通道等上进行亚微米分辨率的微制造。这种技术产生的结构是可调谐的聚合物固体，通过光学可寻址的单体前体扫描焦点体积而制成。该技术可实现优于50纳米的体积分辨率，并能够在单个加工步骤中实现3D、功能化的聚合物固体。除了双光子直写(传感器材料的亚表面和单步三维图案化)的深刻独特应用外，该技术还具有巨大的潜力，可以全面取代目前在聚合物微器件制造中使用的昂贵、耗时和化学有毒的技术。然而，兼容材料清单目前没有任何PDMS系统。在过去的十年里，PDMS材料因其相对于硅和玻璃的许多优点而成为微流控应用的热门材料。PDMS价格便宜，光学透明，可达230 nm，荧光很低，气体渗透，水不透(用于细胞培养)。通过将新型双光子引发剂耦合到PDMS系统，这项工作将对整个生物/化学传感器和医疗微设备制造社区产生巨大影响。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the commercialization of a 3D microdevice printer for biosensing applications through the development of highly efficient two-photon initiators of Poly(dimethysiloxane)s (PDMS). The microdevice printer developed by Auma Laboratories, LLC is based on two-photon direct-writing. The Auma Printer diverges from current (non-commercial) direct-writing machines because it is designed to pattern bio-specific materials from PDMS over areas up to 1000 mm2, depths up to 10mm, and translate at many tens of centimeters/second. This size and rate is required by the biosensor community where microfabrication on petri-dishes, slides, inside microfluidic channels, etc. with submicron resolution is desired. The structures generated by this technique are tunable polymeric solids, made by scanning a focal volume through an optically addressable monomer precursor. The technique is used to achieve better than 50 nanometers volumetric resolution, and is capable of realizing 3D, functionalized polymeric solids in a single processing step.Aside from the profoundly unique applications of Two-Photon Direct-Writing (sub-surface and single-step three-dimensional patterning of sensor materials), there is also great potential to flat-out replace far costlier, time consuming, and chemically toxic technologies currently used in polymer microdevice fabrication. However, the list of compatible materials is currently devoid of any PDMS systems. PDMS material has become popular for microfluidic applications during the last decade because of its numerous advantages over silicon and glass. PDMS is inexpensive, is optically transparent down to 230 nm, has very low fluorescence, is gas permeable, and is water impermeable (for cell culturing). By coupling novel two-photon initiators to PDMS systems, this work will have tremendous impact throughout the biological/chemical sensor and medical microdevice manufacturing communities.