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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Rapid and Low-cost Prototyping of Medical Devices Using 3D Printed Molds for Liquid Injection Molding
Published on: June 27, 2014
Rapid Prototyping of Plastic Lab-on-a-Chip by Femtosecond Laser Micromachining and Removable Insert Microinjection
Rebeca Martínez Vázquez1, Gianluca Trotta2, Annalisa Volpe3
1IFN CNR, Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, National Research Council, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133 Milan, Italy. rebeca.martinez@polimi.it.
Abstract:
We have introduced a new hybrid fabrication method for lab-on-a-chip devices through the combination of femtosecond laser micromachining and removable insert micro-injection molding. This method is particularly suited for the fast prototyping of new devices, while maintaining a competitive low cost. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we designed, fabricated, and tested a completely integrated flow cytometer coupled to a portable media device. The system operation was tested with fluorescent plastic micro-bead solutions ranging from 100 beads/μL to 500 beads/μL. We demonstrated that this hybrid lab-on-a-chip fabrication technology is suitable for producing low-cost and portable biological microsystems and for effectively bridging the gap between new device concepts and their mass production.
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