Laminar Flow-Based Fiber Fabrication and Encoding via Two-Photon Lithography.

Area of Science:

• Microfluidics
• Polymer Chemistry
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• Flow photolithography (FL) is a key technique for creating barcoded microparticles for multiplexed bioassays.
• Existing FL methods can produce particles with complex shapes and colors but cannot generate structurally and spectrally encoded fibers.
• There is a need for advanced microfabrication techniques to produce novel encoded materials for diverse applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel method for fabricating microscale-encoded fibers and Janus strips.
• To combine continuous flow microfluidics with two-photon polymerization (2PP) for high-throughput production.
• To enable simultaneous structural and spectral encoding within microfibers.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a continuous flow microfluidic system with a Y-shape channel for co-flow liquid streams.
• Employed two-photon polymerization (2PP) by scanning a laser voxel across the monomer-initiator interface.
• Achieved selective polymerization to create patterned, fluorescently labeled microstructures.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated microscale-encoded fibers and Janus strips in a high-throughput manner.
• Demonstrated rapid spectral encoding at the single fiber level.
• Produced hybrid fibers with both structural and spectral coding capabilities.

Conclusions:

• The presented method effectively combines microfluidics and 2PP for advanced microfabrication.
• The developed technique allows for the creation of novel encoded microfibers and Janus strips.
• These coded materials have significant potential in security identification, anticounterfeiting, and multiplexed bioassay applications.