Lab on a Chip Devices fabricated by Additive Manufacturing

Lab on a chip devices have transformed how we run chemistry, biology and diagnostics at small scales, yet most are still produced by silicon and PDMS routes that depend on cleanroom soft lithography. These methods are mature and reliable, but they are slow to iterate, limited in geometry and difficult to adapt across materials. Additive manufacturing is changing this picture. Direct write and printing approaches now allow rapid prototyping, true three dimensional architectures, multi material integration and designs that would be hard or impossible to reach with conventional fabrication. This Research Topic gathers work where additive manufacturing plays a defining role in building lab on a chip and microfluidic devices. Our aim is to capture the breadth of the field, from fundamental advances in fabrication and materials through to working devices and applications, while keeping a clear and consistent focus. Scope and eligibility: To be considered, submissions must demonstrate that at least one element of the lab on a chip device is produced by additive manufacturing. This includes printing the device or its functional features directly, as well as using additive methods to create moulds, masters or templates that are then used to form the final device, for example as an alternative to soft lithography. Purely conventional fabrication without an additive element falls outside this Topic. We welcome original research, reviews, methods and perspectives addressing, but not limited to:• Additive manufacturing techniques across the resolution range. Lower resolution direct write approaches such as aerosol jet printing and micro dispensing, through to higher resolution methods such as stereolithography and two photon polymerization. Submissions should make clear the resolution regime and why it suits the intended device.• Materials, inks and polymers. Ink and resin formulation, polymer composition, processing and long term stability, where the work shows how the material choice enables a functioning lab on a chip device.• 2D and 3D features and architectures. Fabrication of fine planar features and genuine three dimensional structures, including the precision needed for microfluidic function in the micron range.• Flexible and conformal devices. Soft, flexible and conformal lab on a chip systems produced with additive methods, as a standalone theme that need not combine with the other areas.• Hybrid and integrated workflows. Approaches that pair additive manufacturing with established microfabrication, including additive masters or moulds feeding casting and replication steps. Topic editors: Murali Krishna Ghatkesar, Trystan Domenech Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81877/lab-on-a-chip-devices-fabricated-by-additive-manufacturing