Cell Culture Chip Microchannel Fabrication via Photopolymerization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional methods for producing cell culture chips face challenges in mass production cost and functionality, with soft lithography being unsuitable for large-scale production and injection molding requiring costly mold production, while also lacking observability of the chip's interior.

Innovation Solution

A method involving the formation of a photosensitive adhesive layer on a transparent substrate, followed by selective curing and layering of photosensitive molding material, repeated to create a microchannel structure, and bonding with a polyester-based adhesive for thermocompression, enabling low-cost mass production and internal observation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If soft lithography method is used to produce chip for cell culture, then microchannel structure can be formed, but mass production capability is lost and production cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemicrochannel structure formationVSAvoidmass production capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention uses a master mold with microchannel structures to create multiple replicas through injection molding. The master mold is fabricated once using soft lithography (which ensures high precision), and then this master is used to produce many identical copies via injection molding, thereby achieving both high manufacturing precision and mass production capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The production process is divided into two distinct stages: (1) creating the master mold with precise microchannel structures using soft lithography, and (2) mass-producing replicas through injection molding. This segmentation allows each stage to optimize for its specific purpose without compromising the other

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Productivity

If injection molding method is used to produce chip for cell culture, then mass production is enabled, but mold production cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemass production capabilityVSAvoidmold production cost

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The master mold is created using flexible PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) material through soft lithography, which is a cost-effective and rapid prototyping technique. This flexible mold can be easily fabricated without requiring expensive rigid mold tooling, thereby reducing the initial mold production cost while still enabling injection molding for mass production

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Reliability

If conventional chip production methods are used, then cell culture function is achieved, but internal observation capability is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecell culture functionVSAvoidinternal observation capability

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The chip incorporates transparent or translucent materials that allow light transmission, enabling optical observation of the microchannel interior. This transparency property allows researchers to visually detect and measure cellular behavior, fluid flow, and other internal processes without compromising the chip's cell culture functionality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #32Color changes

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This method allows for the cost-effective mass production of cell culture chips with microchannel structures that support cell culture and enable internal observation, addressing the limitations of existing techniques.

Implementation Method 1

selectively irradiating the photosensitive molding material layer with ultraviolet rays to selectively cure the photosensitive molding material layer

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPhotopolymerization: Photopolymerisation

Implementation Method 2

bonding the cell culture channel and the cell culture channel top plate together via the first adhesive layer, and then performing thermocompression bonding

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermocompression bonding:

Data Source

PatentUS10941376B2Method for producing chip for cell culture

Publication Date: 2021.03.09 TOKYO OHKA KOGYO CO LTD

AI summary

A method for producing a chip for cell culture that enables production of a microchannel structure, enables mass production at low cost, and also has functions suited to cell culture. The method includes forming a photosensitive adhesive layer by applying a photosensitive adhesive to a first substrate having transparency, thus obtaining a 3D printing substrate, 3D printing steps that employ vat photopolymerization, forming a first adhesive layer by depositing a first adhesive on a second substrate having transparency, thus obtaining a cell culture channel top plate, and bonding the cell culture channel and the cell culture channel top plate together via the first adhesive layer, and then performing thermocompression bonding to obtain a microchannel structural body having a hollow structure, wherein the first adhesive is a polyester-based resin having a Tg value of 5° C. or higher.