Paper
23 May 2013 Laser microfabrication of biomedical devices: time-resolved microscopy of the printing process
P. Serra, A. Patrascioiu, J. M. Fernández-Pradas, J. L. Morenza
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Abstract
Laser printing constitutes an interesting alternative to more conventional printing techniques in the microfabrication of biomedical devices. The principle of operation of most laser printing techniques relies on the highly localized absorption of strongly focused laser pulses in the close proximity of the free surface of the liquid to be printed. This leads to the generation of a cavitation bubble which further expansion results in the ejection of a small fraction of the liquid, giving place to the deposition of a well-defined droplet onto a collector substrate. Laser printing has proved feasible for printing biological materials, from single-stranded DNA to proteins, and even living cells and microorganisms, with high degrees of resolution and reproducibility. In consequence, laser printing appears to be an excellent candidate for the fabrication of biological microdevices, such as DNA and protein microarrays, or miniaturized biosensors. The optimization of the performances of laser printing techniques requires a detailed knowledge of the dynamics of liquid transfer. Time-resolved microscopy techniques play a crucial role in this concern, since they allow tracking the evolution of the ejected material with excellent time and spatial resolution. Investigations carried out up to date have shown that liquid ejection proceeds through the formation of long, thin and stable liquid jets. In this work the different approaches used so far for monitoring liquid ejection during laser printing are considered, and it is shown how these techniques make possible to understand the complex dynamics involved in the process.
© (2013) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
P. Serra, A. Patrascioiu, J. M. Fernández-Pradas, and J. L. Morenza "Laser microfabrication of biomedical devices: time-resolved microscopy of the printing process", Proc. SPIE 8792, Optical Methods for Inspection, Characterization, and Imaging of Biomaterials, 879216 (23 May 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2022015
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KEYWORDS
Liquids

Nonimpact printing

Printing

Pulsed laser operation

Microscopy

Biomedical optics

Cavitation

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