3D printing Services:
Lab-On-A-Chip & microfluidics
The methods of etching silicon wafers or using soft-lithography (SU8) to cast PDMS layers for a microfluidic device are restrictive because of the inherent problems with a mold based development cycle - it is a long and expensive process, bonding presents and issue, and scale-up is impossible.
Biology, and cells are 3-dimensional, and Skyphos’ micro-DLP-3DP is an elegant solution to the problems presented by wafer molding where re-designs are prevalent as the design evolves. 3D printing removes the mold requirements, and speeds up by going direct from drawing to finished product in days. Revisions are fast and in many cases multiple design parameters can be incorporated readily to experiments to iterate faster.
Applied to the case of microfluidics, PDMS molds, Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC), Point-Of-Care (POC) diagnostics, as the product gains momentum, scale up is easy because at the size scale - about the size of a credit card- 3D printing is faster than using masters. Further, injection molding and hot embossing require specialized molds which take months to acquire and a large order quantity to make sense. If the design of the diagnostic ever changes - all it takes is a drawing to revise the design.
Although most customers choose Skyphos proprietary clear, biocompatible resin for their devices. Skyphos patented 3D printer incorporates several wavelengths to the light-engine, allowing it to be open source and use many of the popular resins from the UV-spectrum.
Skyphos printers are designed to allow pixel sizes between 2.5 um and 100 um. This allows incredibly detailed chips with open channels down to 10 microns and fully enclosed down to 30 um. Our specialized and in house developed resins allow effortless stacking of multiple layers and integration to the rest of your platform.
>>Accelerate your design
High resolution, low surface roughness.
Single micron resolutions, no pixel imprinting, and glass -like smoothness.
Fast.
Test and iterate in 1-2 days, multiple designs
Accurate.
Feature sizes in single microns. Under 200 nm surface roughness.
Small Channels with optimal cross-sections.
Square, ovoid, circle - or anything in between.
One material from Prototype-to-Product.
Use the same material from prototyping through production. No need for retesting.
Biocompatible.
Optically clear - perfect for microscopy.
Autoclavable.
Multi-material.
Use any resin or any material, Our patented light engine and 3D printer allow the use of selected bandwidths at 365nm, 385 nm, 395nm, or 405 nm and full spectrum.
A clear elastomeric microfluidic device is about to have final wash and cure completed. The resin is cured with a 405nm wavelength light source. Skyphos 3D printers can use many of the common bandwidths including the most critical ones which can activate biocompatible photo initiators including 365nm, 385nm, and 405nm. The channels are 500 um wide, 100 um tall. These devices will be used for testing bio-reactions and protein binding affinity in a Surface Plasmon resonance test.
Development without mold delays.
Got a new design for a microfluidic chip? No more waiting on design molds or revision delays.
Skyphos’ 3D printing technology now offers faster, more accurate results — moving ideas to finished parts in days
