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

该小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目通过开发高效的聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）双光子引发剂，解决了生物传感应用的3D微器件打印机的商业化问题。由Auma实验室有限责任公司开发的微器件打印机基于双光子直写。Auma打印机与目前的（非商业）直写机器不同，因为它被设计为在高达1000平方毫米的面积上对PDMS的生物特异性材料进行图案化，深度高达10毫米，并以数十厘米/秒的速度平移。该尺寸和速率是生物传感器群体所需要的，其中期望在培养皿、载玻片、微流体通道内等上以亚微米分辨率进行微制造。通过这种技术产生的结构是可调的聚合物固体，通过光学可寻址单体前体扫描焦点体积制成。该技术用于实现优于50纳米的体积分辨率，并且能够在单个处理步骤中实现3D功能化聚合物固体。（传感器材料的亚表面和单步三维图案化），也有很大的潜力来平坦地取代昂贵得多，耗时，以及目前用于聚合物微器件制造的化学有毒技术。然而，兼容材料的列表目前没有任何PDMS系统。在过去的十年中，PDMS材料由于其相对于硅和玻璃的许多优点而在微流体应用中变得流行。PDMS是廉价的，低至230 nm是光学透明的，具有非常低的荧光，是气体可渗透的，并且是水不可渗透的（用于细胞培养）。通过将新型双光子引发剂与PDMS系统相结合，这项工作将对整个生物/化学传感器和医疗微器件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.