Publication
The combination of imprinting and extrusion overprinting of composite glass materials offers a pathway for the fabrication of fully integrated functional microfluidic devices. Utilizing novel low -temperature phosphate glasses, originally developed for 3D extrusion printing, imprinting now has been achieved with soft stamps. The current hybrid process demonstrates superior resolution compared to previously reported extrusion techniques, presenting possibilities for applications such as open microfluidic channels that can subsequently be sealed by extrusion printing. The water-based microparticle glass-ink enables patterning at room temperature and its solidification occurring through water evaporation within the glass particle scaffold. Following the demolding, sintering is conducted at a temperature of 485°C, resulting in dense glass elements with porosity levels below 1 %. For straightforward microfluidic channel structures featuring channels ranging from 100-200 μm in width, the shape is fully preserved during demolding and sequential annealing. The shrinkage observed is almost isotropic. The channels were successfully tested in an open microfluidic setup and initial tests were performed with the closed channels.