Integrated microfluidic systems that combine fluid flow, manipulation, sensing, and actuation are attractive for a wide range of applications in biology, chemistry, and medicine. At LAFT, we develop fully additively manufactured microfluidic systems using multimaterial 3D printing strategies — eliminating the need for cleanrooms or manual assembly steps. Our research addresses two key challenges: controlling the non-idealities of additive manufacturing processes (such as surface roughness) that affect fluid behaviour, and developing printable material systems that enable true multifunctional integration.
3D-Printed High-Performance Micropumps: Mastering Surface Roughness
Additive manufacturing introduces inherent surface roughness in printed channels, which significantly affects fluid flow and pump performance. In this work, we developed a systematic model-driven approach to characterize, predict, and eliminate roughness-induced flow non-idealities in material extrusion (MEX) 3D-printed microfluidic devices. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model incorporating a surface roughness model was validated experimentally, and then used to drive an optimization process for the printing parameters.
Using this framework, we demonstrated high-performance valveless micropumps fabricated from both printed glass and ABS — reported for the first time. This approach provides a foundation for the rational design of 3D-printed microfluidic components tailored to personalized healthcare and point-of-care diagnostics, where rapid design iteration and customization are critical. [Fadlelmula, Mazinani & Subramanian, Additive Manufacturing, 94, 104468, 2024]
Multimaterial 3D Printing with Low-Temperature Phosphate Glass
A key challenge in fabricating fully integrated microfluidic devices by additive manufacturing is the lack of materials compatible with multimaterial co-processing. Conventional glass requires high-temperature sintering that destroys co-printed metals and polymers. We addressed this by developing a novel low-temperature phosphate glass specifically formulated for multimaterial 3D printing.
The glass composition (P2O5–ZnO–Na2O/CaO with 10 wt% Fe2O3) achieves high chemical durability (LogDR = −8.47 g cm−2 min−1 at 25°C) and a low glass transition temperature of 412°C — low enough to be co-processed with printed silver conductors and sacrificial polymer channels. The glass powder is formulated into a printable ink using a temperature-sensitive binder, enabling room-temperature extrusion on a heated bed (60°C), with binder removal and sintering occurring in a single post-print heat treatment step.
To demonstrate full multimaterial integration, we fabricated a microfluidic device incorporating glass structural channels, silver paste conductors, and a sacrificial polymer core — all printed simultaneously in a single monolithic process. This approach opens the door to the integration of glass, metals, semiconductors, optical components, and electronics within a single additively manufactured microfluidic platform. [Mazinani, Fadlelmula & Subramanian, Advanced Engineering Materials, 2025]
