Design and Fabrication of 3D Printed Fully Enclosed Microfluidic Devices Implementing a “Stop- Tape-Go" Method for Organ-on-a-Chip Applications.

Presentation Type

Visual Display

Conference Date

Spring 4-17-2026

Abstract

Organ-on-a-chip technology aims to recreate bodily functions in vitro within small enclosures. When compared to traditional 2D cell culture formats, these systems amplify control over fluid flows and drug concentrations, ensuring significant promise for drug testing, tissue engineering, and disease modeling. However, these microdevices can be challenging to fabricate consistently, rapidly, and cost-effectively. Emerging 3D printing methods using affordable consumer-grade printers allow direct printing of microchannels or bio-printed scaffolds containing live cells. Still, a crucial obstacle remains when printing fully enclosed microchannels for perfusion that maintain optical transparency for light microscopy. While resin 3D printers offer resolution that rivals photolithography precision, a drawback to their printing method is that channel celling cannot be printed without collapsing into the empty channel volume due to the lack of removable scaffolding. This project proposes a “Stop-Tape-Go” (STG) method to combat this issue and print fully enclosed chips in a single run on a consumer-grade resin printer. By incorporating a pause and manual insertion of microfluidic tape into the printing process, enclosed channels amenable to fluid flow are created. Using newer transparent resins and a glass build plate; this method produces precise microscopic inspection and clarity of the chips. To demonstrate the utility, a semi-permeable dialysis membrane was inserted into a chip, testing size-exclusion based separation of dyes with differing molecular weight. The STG method shows promise for the rapid fabrication of clear, multi-layered microfluidic chips with high precision, making this a great option for organ-on-a-chip studies involving live cell cultures.

Presenter

Dylan Rousselle

Faculty Mentor

Todd Monroe

Award

Top 5 Individual Presenter, LSU College of Engineering

Academic Major

Biological Engineering

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