Micromolding of Thermoplastic Polymers for Direct Fabrication of Discrete, Multilayered Microparticles
Name
Small Methods - 2022 - Sadeghi - Micromolding of Thermoplastic Polymers for Direct Fabrication of Discrete Multilayered.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.24 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
4ef87d6f678fbd4264cb0b6f723349d0
Author(s)
Sadeghi, Ilin
Lu, Xueguang
Sarmadi, Morteza
Langer, Robert
Jaklenec, Ana
Date Issued
September 2022
Journal
Small Methods
Publisher
Wiley
Citation
Sadeghi, Ilin, Lu, Xueguang, Sarmadi, Morteza, Langer, Robert and Jaklenec, Ana. 2022. "Micromolding of Thermoplastic Polymers for Direct Fabrication of Discrete, Multilayered Microparticles." Small Methods, 6 (9).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Soft lithography provides a convenient and effective method for the fabrication of microdevices with uniform size and shape. However, formation of an embossed, connective film as opposed to discrete features has been an enduring shortcoming associated with soft lithography. Removing this residual layer requires additional postprocessing steps that are often incompatible with organic materials. This limits adaptation and widespread realization of soft lithography for broader applications particularly in drug discovery and drug delivery fields. A novel and versatile approach is demonstrated that enables fabrication of discrete, multilayered, fillable, and harvestable microparticles directly from any thermoplastic polymer, even at very high molecular weights. The approach, isolated microparticle replication via surface-segregating polymer blend mold, utilizes a random copolymer additive, designed with a highly fluorinated segment that, when blended with the mold's matrix, spontaneously orients to the surface conferring an extremely low surface energy and nonwetting properties to the template. The extremely nonwetting properties of the mold are further utilized to load soluble biologics directly into the built-in microwells in a rapid and efficient manner using an innovative screen-printing approach. It is believed that this approach holds promise for fabrication of large-array, 3D, complex microstructures, and is a significant step toward clinical translation of microfabrication technologies.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202200232
