Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Generation of Tissue Spheroids via a 3D Printed Stamp-Like Device
Published on: October 6, 2022
Highly Fluorinated Methacrylates for Optical 3D Printing of Microfluidic Devices
Frederik Kotz1, Patrick Risch2, Dorothea Helmer3
1Institute of Microstructure Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany. Frederik.Kotz@kit.edu.
Abstract:
Highly fluorinated perfluoropolyether (PFPE) methacrylates are of great interest for transparent and chemically resistant microfluidic chips. However, so far only a few examples of material formulations for three-dimensional (3D) printing of these polymers have been demonstrated. In this paper we show that microfluidic chips can be printed using these highly fluorinated polymers by 3D stereolithography printing. We developed photocurable resin formulations that can be printed in commercial benchtop stereolithography printers. We demonstrate that the developed formulations can be printed with minimal cross-sectional area of 600 µm for monolithic embedded microfluidic channels and 200 µm for open structures. The printed and polymerized PFPE methacrylates show a good transmittance above 70% at wavelengths between 520⁻900 nm and a high chemical resistance when being exposed to organic solvents. Microfluidic mixers were printed to demonstrate the great variability of different designs that can be printed using stereolithography.
Related Concept Videos
Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Fluorination and Iodination of Benzene
Non-ohmic Devices
Consider a simple circuit consisting of a battery, a diode, and a resistor. A...
Mnemonic Devices
Acronyms
Acronyms are created by using the initial letters of a series of words to form a new word or phrase. This approach condenses complex information into a single, memorable entity. For example,...
Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity
Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...
Design Example: Identifying the Locations of Monuments in the Field Using Global Positioning System Device

