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Generation of 3D Microparticles in Microchannels with Non-rectangular Cross Sections

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Abstract

Flow lithography in a conventional rectangular microchannel is limited to fabrication of particles for which only the shapes of top perimeters are controlled. We present a flow lithography technique for fabrication of microparticles of diverse 3D shapes and multiple layers using non-rectangular microchannels with designed cross sections that allow the creation of complex shapes and diverse cross-sectional shapes. Variations in cross-sectional shape allow high-throughput, on-demand production of microparticles in unconventional shapes such as tetrahedrons and pyramids. Multilayered 3D particles were generated in an enlarging triangular channel combined with on-chip PDMS valves, which allow particle alignment and fluid exchange. These 3D microparticles are expected to further expand the wide variety of applications of microparticles, especially in drug delivery and tissue engineering fields.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Radiation Technology R&D program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (NRF-2015M2A2A4A02044826) as well as the Advanced Research Program of National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2017R1A2B4005933).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, 34141, Korea

    Sung Min Nam & Wonhee Lee

  2. Department of Electronic Engineering, Institute for Wearable Convergence Electronics, Kyung Hee University, 1732, Deogyeongdaero, Giheung, Yongin, 17104, Korea

    Kibeom Kim & Wook Park

  3. National Nanofab Center, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Korea

    Il-Suk Kang

  4. Department of Physics, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Korea

    Wonhee Lee

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  1. Sung Min Nam
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  2. Kibeom Kim
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  3. Il-Suk Kang
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  4. Wook Park
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  5. Wonhee Lee
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Correspondence to Wook Park or Wonhee Lee.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

These authors contrilbuted equally.

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Nam, S.M., Kim, K., Kang, IS. et al. Generation of 3D Microparticles in Microchannels with Non-rectangular Cross Sections. BioChip J 13, 226–235 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13206-019-3308-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13206-019-3308-2

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