| 摘要 |
A method is described for producing a microfluidic device (19), which comprises the phases of producing a three-dimensional template (15) of geometry equal to the channelings that is desired to obtain in the device; inserting the template in the desired position into a mold (16), keeping it suspended by at least one of its end; coating said template by immersion in (or deposition of) a material in the liquid phase (or dissolved or dispersed in a solvent) capable of solidifying by means of a chemical reaction or physical transformation, forming a material constituting the body of the final device; and selectively removing the three-dimensional template. In a variant of the method, useful for the production of scaffolds to be inserted into the human body, a porogenic material is added to the liquid precursor or to the precursor solution, such that the material of the solid matrix is characterized by a continuous structure of pores into which it is possible to insert live cells. |
| 主权项 |
1. A method for producing a monolithic three-dimensional microfluidic device, comprising the following steps:
producing, with a sacrificial material, a three-dimensional template of stable form, consisting of a part corresponding to channelling of the microfluidic device, and one or more parts not corresponding to said channelling; positioning said three-dimensional template into a mould by suspending it from at least one of said parts not corresponding to said channelling; coating said three-dimensional template, leaving out said parts not corresponding to said channelling, with a precursor, liquid or in solution, of a solid matrix, said precursor being able to solidify by chemical reaction or physical transformation forming a matrix making up a body of the monolithic three-dimensional microfluidic device; causing solidification of said precursor; selectively removing the sacrificial material by a heat treatment and/or by dissolution with a solvent thereof; wherein into the liquid precursor or into the solution of the solid matrix precursor, powders of a porogenic sacrificial material are introduced, which can be equal or different from the sacrificial material used to form the three-dimensional template, and a resulting matrix material is porous, whereby further to said channelling of the microfluidic device obtained by removal of the three-dimensional template, the matrix thus produced has secondary apertures composed of interconnected pores. |
