# Multi-material stereolithographic 3D-printing for prototyping Tissue Chips

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $227,517

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Tissue Chips – microfluidic devices containing human cells in 3D architectures that attempt to recapitulate the
physiology and pathophysiology of human tissues and organs – contain advanced designs that critically require
3D/modular fabrication, the incorporation of multiple materials and functionalities, and fluidic automation.
The vast majority of Tissue Chips are still prototyped in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). However, difficult
barriers remain for PDMS as a Tissue Chip material. The surface of PDMS is porous and hydrophobic, so both
absorption into PDMS and adsorption onto PDMS can potentially alter experimental outcomes by changing the
target concentrations and by partitioning molecules in undesired regions of a microfluidic device.
3D-Printing holds an obvious potential for Tissue Chips. Stereolithography (SL), in particular, has been an
excellent choice for modulating shapes in 3D at high resolution but modulating material composition is still a
challenge. There is a critical need for more advanced, high-resolution and multi-material SL-printing
approaches to building future Tissue Chips that can integrate the structural components of a device (channels
and valves) with biofabrication (cells and scaffolds). Yet there is no off-the-shelf solution to SL-print multi-material
microfluidic devices of wide applicability.
This application proposes the synthesis and SL-printing of cyclo-octyne methacrylate (COMA) resin, which
will enable the immobilization of any biomolecule-azide of choice onto the COMA-printed surfaces.
COMA for derivatizing printed parts via straightforward copper-free (biocompatible) click chemistry, in this case
by conjugation to an azide group which spontaneously and specifically reacts with the COMA group in aqueous
solutions. Using biotin-azide (commercially available) and an avidin linkage, we will be able to immobilize any
biotinylated biomolecule of choice onto the COMA-printed surfaces. We will also use a baseline acrylate resin
composed of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (MW~258) (PEG-DA-258), which has successfully been used in
microfluidics by several labs, and will experiment with blending PEG-DA-258 with other diacrylates and/or
monoacrylates to obtain resins with differing properties, such as higher flexibility. To print devices that are made
partially with PEG-DA-258 resin (or blends) and partially with COMA resin (or blends), we will utilize a strategy
for co-printing multiple acrylate resins recently utilized by the Folch lab that consists of pausing the print and
exchanging the resins in the vat. This scheme will have wide applicability to 3D-print microfluidic devices with
multiple regions bearing molecular functionalities (e.g. biomolecular detection, cell capture) and/or elements with
distinct sensing/actuating properties (e.g. microvalves, force sensors, etc.). Examples include 3D-printed
multiplexed immunosensors based on COMA-derivatized regions, cell trapping devices for ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10126650
- **Project number:** 1R21GM137161-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** ALBERT FOLCH
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $227,517
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-17 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10126650

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10126650, Multi-material stereolithographic 3D-printing for prototyping Tissue Chips (1R21GM137161-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10126650. Licensed CC0.

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