Roll-to-Roll (R2R) High-Throughput Manufacturing of Foil-Based Microfluidic Chips for Neurite Outgrowth Studies
Microfluidic devices have emerged as a pivotal in vitro technology for axon outgrowth studies, facilitating the separation of the cell body from the neurites by geometric constraints. However, traditional microfabrication techniques fall short in terms of scalability for large-scale production, hind...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/6/713 |
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| author | Nihan Atak Martin Smolka Anja Haase Alexandra Lorenz Silvia Schobesberger Stephan Ruttloff Christian Wolf Ana Ayerdi-Izquierdo Peter Ertl Nerea Briz Iceta Jan Hesse Martin Frauenlob |
| author_facet | Nihan Atak Martin Smolka Anja Haase Alexandra Lorenz Silvia Schobesberger Stephan Ruttloff Christian Wolf Ana Ayerdi-Izquierdo Peter Ertl Nerea Briz Iceta Jan Hesse Martin Frauenlob |
| author_sort | Nihan Atak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microfluidic devices have emerged as a pivotal in vitro technology for axon outgrowth studies, facilitating the separation of the cell body from the neurites by geometric constraints. However, traditional microfabrication techniques fall short in terms of scalability for large-scale production, hindering widespread application. This study presents the development of foil-based cell culture chips, made of polyethylene terephthalate and in-house formulated ultraviolet curable liquid resin by high-throughput roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing. Here, two microchannel designs were tested to optimize manufacturing quality and assess the neurite outgrowth behavior. The fabricated neuron-foil chips demonstrated biocompatibility and supported neurite outgrowth within microchannels under static cell culture conditions. Furthermore, fluidic flow, oriented either perpendicular or parallel to the microchannel direction, was applied to enhance the biological reproducibility within the neuron-foil chips. These findings suggest that R2R manufacturing offers a promising approach for the high-throughput production of biocompatible microfluidic devices, advancing their potential application in modeling neurological diseases within the biomedical industry. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1eddaaa066094feaa192e66dcbbbd04d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj-art-1eddaaa066094feaa192e66dcbbbd04d2025-08-20T03:16:34ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2025-06-0116671310.3390/mi16060713Roll-to-Roll (R2R) High-Throughput Manufacturing of Foil-Based Microfluidic Chips for Neurite Outgrowth StudiesNihan Atak0Martin Smolka1Anja Haase2Alexandra Lorenz3Silvia Schobesberger4Stephan Ruttloff5Christian Wolf6Ana Ayerdi-Izquierdo7Peter Ertl8Nerea Briz Iceta9Jan Hesse10Martin Frauenlob11Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH-MATERIALS, Franz-Pichler-Strasse 31, 8160 Weiz, AustriaJoanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH-MATERIALS, Franz-Pichler-Strasse 31, 8160 Weiz, AustriaJoanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH-MATERIALS, Franz-Pichler-Strasse 31, 8160 Weiz, AustriaFaculty of Technical Chemistry, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9, 1060 Vienna, AustriaFaculty of Technical Chemistry, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9, 1060 Vienna, AustriaJoanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH-MATERIALS, Franz-Pichler-Strasse 31, 8160 Weiz, AustriaJoanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH-MATERIALS, Franz-Pichler-Strasse 31, 8160 Weiz, AustriaTECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Mikeletegi Pasealekua 2, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, SpainFaculty of Technical Chemistry, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9, 1060 Vienna, AustriaTECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Mikeletegi Pasealekua 2, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, SpainJoanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH-MATERIALS, Franz-Pichler-Strasse 31, 8160 Weiz, AustriaFaculty of Technical Chemistry, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9, 1060 Vienna, AustriaMicrofluidic devices have emerged as a pivotal in vitro technology for axon outgrowth studies, facilitating the separation of the cell body from the neurites by geometric constraints. However, traditional microfabrication techniques fall short in terms of scalability for large-scale production, hindering widespread application. This study presents the development of foil-based cell culture chips, made of polyethylene terephthalate and in-house formulated ultraviolet curable liquid resin by high-throughput roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing. Here, two microchannel designs were tested to optimize manufacturing quality and assess the neurite outgrowth behavior. The fabricated neuron-foil chips demonstrated biocompatibility and supported neurite outgrowth within microchannels under static cell culture conditions. Furthermore, fluidic flow, oriented either perpendicular or parallel to the microchannel direction, was applied to enhance the biological reproducibility within the neuron-foil chips. These findings suggest that R2R manufacturing offers a promising approach for the high-throughput production of biocompatible microfluidic devices, advancing their potential application in modeling neurological diseases within the biomedical industry.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/6/713brain-on-a-chipfoil-based microfluidicsneurite outgrowthroll-to-roll manufacturing |
| spellingShingle | Nihan Atak Martin Smolka Anja Haase Alexandra Lorenz Silvia Schobesberger Stephan Ruttloff Christian Wolf Ana Ayerdi-Izquierdo Peter Ertl Nerea Briz Iceta Jan Hesse Martin Frauenlob Roll-to-Roll (R2R) High-Throughput Manufacturing of Foil-Based Microfluidic Chips for Neurite Outgrowth Studies Micromachines brain-on-a-chip foil-based microfluidics neurite outgrowth roll-to-roll manufacturing |
| title | Roll-to-Roll (R2R) High-Throughput Manufacturing of Foil-Based Microfluidic Chips for Neurite Outgrowth Studies |
| title_full | Roll-to-Roll (R2R) High-Throughput Manufacturing of Foil-Based Microfluidic Chips for Neurite Outgrowth Studies |
| title_fullStr | Roll-to-Roll (R2R) High-Throughput Manufacturing of Foil-Based Microfluidic Chips for Neurite Outgrowth Studies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Roll-to-Roll (R2R) High-Throughput Manufacturing of Foil-Based Microfluidic Chips for Neurite Outgrowth Studies |
| title_short | Roll-to-Roll (R2R) High-Throughput Manufacturing of Foil-Based Microfluidic Chips for Neurite Outgrowth Studies |
| title_sort | roll to roll r2r high throughput manufacturing of foil based microfluidic chips for neurite outgrowth studies |
| topic | brain-on-a-chip foil-based microfluidics neurite outgrowth roll-to-roll manufacturing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/6/713 |
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