Two-Photon Polymerization Towards Organ-on-a-Chip: Prototyping of a Bio-Compatible Microfluidic Chip

Since its first development in the early 1980’s, 3D printing has gone through a lot of changes and innovations that allowed this technology to be exploited in a growing range of applications. What was considered before as a method for rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing is now becoming a valid alternative to conventional fabrication technologies. One field in particular where it is proving to be a promising fabrication alternative is the organ-on-a-chip. Currently, the conventional fabrication method for these microfluidic bio-devices is a combination of UV and soft lithography that requires time and specialized equipment as well as specialized work. In this study, we propose to fabricate a microfluidic device by a 3D printing technique called two-photon polymerization: in this way, the different steps of the fabrication process of these devices can be substituted with a one-step production method. An additional check is also performed in terms of bio-compatibility by growing cells on a 3D-printed membrane. To obtain a functioning design, a long design process was brought out: finally, a working device was fabricated and tested in operating conditions. The device resulted to be working with no problems and to be bio-compatible (cells were successfully cultured on the membrane). Therefore, 3D-printing can actually represent a valid alternative to conventional UV and soft lithography fabrication methods for organ-on-a-chip devices fabrication.