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Updated: May 28, 2025
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An Additive Manufacturing Technique for the Facile and Rapid Fabrication of Hydrogel-based Micromachines with Magnetically Responsive Components
Published on: July 18, 2018
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A plug-and-play microfluidic device for hydrogel fiber spinning.
Kongchang Wei1,2, Wuchao Wang1, Giorgia Giovannini1
1Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, 9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Lab on a Chip
|February 12, 2025
Summary
A novel plug-and-play microfluidic device simplifies hydrogel fiber spinning for biomedical applications. This user-friendly system enables easy fabrication of functional, multi-layered hydrogel fibers for biosensing and drug delivery.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Microfluidics
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Hydrogel fibers are vital for biosensing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.
- Existing microfluidic devices for hydrogel fiber spinning are complex, requiring specialized equipment and expertise.
- Current devices are prone to issues like clotting and contamination, limiting user accessibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a user-friendly, modular, plug-and-play microfluidic device for efficient hydrogel fiber spinning.
- To overcome the limitations of conventional microfluidic systems in terms of fabrication complexity and maintenance.
- To demonstrate the versatility of the device in producing various hydrogel fiber configurations, including multi-layered structures.
Main Methods:
- Designed a modular plug-and-play microfluidic device using PDMS elastomers mounted on Lego® blocks.
- Employed the device for alginate hydrogel fiber spinning using single, double, and triple-module configurations.
- Fabricated pH-sensitive multi-layered hydrogel fibers as a proof-of-concept.
Main Results:
- The plug-and-play device allows for easy assembly, disassembly, and module replacement, enhancing user-friendliness.
- Successfully produced alginate hydrogel fibers using single and double-module setups.
- Demonstrated the capability to create multi-layered hydrogel fibers with a triple-module device.
- Fabricated pH-sensitive multi-layered fibers suitable for monitoring biological environments.
Conclusions:
- The plug-and-play microfluidic device offers a simplified and accessible approach to hydrogel fiber fabrication.
- The modular design facilitates maintenance and customization for diverse biomedical applications.
- The developed system holds significant potential for advancing research in functional hydrogel fibers for biosensing and drug delivery.
