Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), 77, Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673, Republic of Korea.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), 77, Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673, Republic of Korea.
ACS Macro Lett. 2021 Jul 20;10(7):965-970. doi: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.1c00256. Epub 2021 Jul 12.
Although direct electrospinning has been frequently utilized to develop a nanofiber membrane-integrated microfluidic chip, the dielectric substrate material retards the deposition of electrospun nanofibers on the substrate, and the rough surface formed by deposited nanofibers hinders the successful sealing. In this study we introduce a facile fabrication process of an electrospun nanofiber membrane-integrated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chip, called a NFM-PDMS chip, by applying the functional layer. The functional layer consists of a silver nanowires (AgNWs)-embedded uncured PDMS adhesive layer (SNUP), which not only effectively concentrates the electric field toward the PDMS substrate, but also provides a smooth surface for robust sealing. The AgNWs in the SNUP play a crucial role as a grounded collector and enable approximately 4× faster electrospinning than the conventional method, forming a free-standing nanofiber membrane. The uncured PDMS adhesive layer in the SNUP maintains the smooth surface after electrospinning and allows the rapid and leakage-free bonding of the NFM-PDMS chip using plasma treatment. A practical application of the NFM-PDMS chip is demonstrated by culturing the human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT cells. The HaCaT cells are well grown on the free-standing nanofiber membrane under dynamic flow conditions, maintaining good viability over 95% for 7 days of culture.
虽然直接静电纺丝已被广泛用于开发纳米纤维膜集成微流控芯片，但介电基底材料会阻碍电纺纳米纤维在基底上的沉积，而沉积纳米纤维形成的粗糙表面则阻碍了成功密封。在本研究中，我们介绍了一种简便的纳米纤维膜集成聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）微流控芯片的制造工艺，称为 NFMPDMS 芯片，该工艺采用了功能层。功能层由嵌入未固化 PDMS 粘合剂层的银纳米线（AgNWs）组成（SNUP），它不仅有效地将电场集中到 PDMS 基底上，而且为牢固的密封提供了一个光滑的表面。SNUP 中的 AgNWs 起着至关重要的作用，作为接地收集器，使得电纺速度比传统方法快约 4 倍，形成独立的纳米纤维膜。SNUP 中的未固化 PDMS 粘合剂层在电纺后保持光滑的表面，并允许使用等离子体处理快速且无泄漏地结合 NFMPDMS 芯片。NFMPDMS 芯片的实际应用通过培养人角质形成细胞系 HaCaT 细胞得到了证明。HaCaT 细胞在动态流动条件下很好地生长在独立的纳米纤维膜上，培养 7 天的细胞存活率保持在 95%以上。
