Aquaculture America 2024

February 18 - 21, 2024

San Antonio, Texas

CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF INDUSTRIAL AND CONSUMER-LEVEL 3-D RESIN PRINTING AND PHOTOLITHOGRAPHY FABRICATION OF MICRODEVICES FOR APPLICATIONS IN AQUATIC GERMPLASM REPOSITORIES

Seyedmajid Hosseini*, Jack Koch, Yue Liu, Ignatius Semmes,  Isabelina Nahmens,  W. Todd Monroe, Terrence Tiersch

LSU AgCenter  Aquatic Germplasm and Genetic Resources Center

 2288 Gourrier Ave. Baton Rouge, LA 70820

Shoss11@lsu.edu

 



 Aquatic germplasm repositories  can  play a pivotal role in securing the genetic diversity of economically vital aquatic species. However, existing technologies for repository development  and operation face challenges in terms of precision, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, especially for microdevices used in  gamete  quality evaluation . In this study, we examined  the potential of  using  3-D  stereolithography resin printing of microdevices to address these challenges  and evaluated the capabilities and limitations of industrial-grade printers, consumer- level printers, and conventional microfabrication methods such as photolithography.  To determine  the capabilities of 3-D resin printers and evaluate  differences in design versus printed features in  a test object, the Integrated Geometry Sampler (IGS) and  the Single-piece Sperm Counting Chamber (SSCC) were  printed  using  an industrial 3-D resin printer (Profluidics 285D, CADworks 3D) with a cost of about $25K, high- pixel resolution of 28 µm and rapid printing speed, and a consumer-grade counterpart (Sonic Mighty 8K Phrozen) with  a more affordable price around $400-$1000 , lower resolution and slower printing speed. The IGS design featured an array of negative and positive features, such as  a  semi-sphere,  cones, and channels with dimensions ranging from 1 mm to 50 µm in width and depth. The SSCC  consisted of grid and wall features  to facilitate  the counting of cells. The  3-D printed parts  were compared  with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices cast from a typical photoresist mold. The f abrication quality was evaluated  by use of optical  profilometry (Keyence , VR-6100 )  of  parameters such as dimensional accuracy  and  surface morphology,  as well as fabrication time and cost .  The  precision, reliability, and surface quality offered by industrial-grade 3-D resin printing were more than satisfactory  for operations requiring features larger  than 100 µm due to a very low  discrepancy between actual size and mean of measured size in the range of 1 mm to 100 µm. Meanwhile, consumer-grade printers we re suitable for microdevices  with features larger than 200 µm (Figure 1).  These capabilities offer great promise for rapid development and widespread use of standardized microdevices for numerous applications, including  gamete evaluation and “laboratory-on-a-chip ” applications in support of aquatic germplasm repositories.