Fabrication of 3D capillary vessel models with circulatory connection ports

Abstract

Bionic microscopic vessel models can contribute to the development of vascular treatment skills and techniques for clinical training. Most microscopic vessel models are limited to two dimensions, but three-dimensional (3D) models are important for surgery, such as on retina microscopic vessels, for the observation of colon microvessels, for measuring the deformability of red blood cell (RBC), and so on. Therefore, bionic 3D blood vessel models are increasingly in demand. For this reason, it is necessary to establish 3D fabrication techniques for microchannels. In this study, we established two fabrication methods for 3D microfluidic devices for the development of microscopic vessel models. First, we employed an exposure method using photolithographic technology. Second, we employed a 3D method using femtosecond laser and mask hybrid exposure (FMEx). Both methods made it possible to fabricate a millimeter-scale 3D structure with a submicrometer resolution and achieve an easy injection of solution. This is because it was possible to fabricate typical microfluidic channels used for model inlet and outlet ports. Furthermore, in the FMEx method, we employed an acid-diffusion effect using a chemically amplified resist to form a circular channel cross-section. The acid-diffusion effect made it realizable to fabricate a smooth surface independent of the laser scanning line width. Thus, we succeeded in establishing two methods for the fabrication of bionic 3D microfluidic devices with microfluidic channels having diameters of 15-16 μm for mimicking capillary vessels.