Current and Emerging Microfabrication Techniques for Lab-on-a-Chip and Biomedical Microdevices: From Photolithography to 3D Printing

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "B:Biology and Biomedicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 886

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past three decades, microfabrication and microfluidic technologies have experienced remarkable advancements and had a broad range of applications, including in vitro diagnostics, drug delivery, infectious diseases, and numerous other fields. The fabrication of microfluidic devices has benefited from well-established semiconductor microfabrication technology for creating planar miniaturized features with unprecedented high precision and high-throughput capabilities. These “flat” microfluidic devices enable the handling of minute amounts of fluids, as low as a few picoliters, in a network of microchannels, as well as the manipulation of various biochemical reactions at very small volumes. Since its introduction by George Whitesides in 1998, soft lithography, particularly in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), became the dominant fabrication technique for lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices. Soft lithography offers a straightforward and efficient process, paving the way for its widespread adoption across academia and research labs. However, these fabrication techniques still lack standards that govern possible mass production. Various emerging fabrication techniques, such as molding, 3D printing, and nanofabrication, have shown promise in overcoming the limitations of traditional soft lithography in terms of versatility, scalability, and the ability to work with a wider range of materials and geometries (e.g., 3D structures).

We are delighted to announce this Special Issue, which intends to include the most relevant research in microfluidic/biomedical microdevice fabrication, from state-of-the-art contributions to critical reviews on the topic that will highlight recent progress in this field. 

Dr. Qasem Ramadan
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • novel fabrication materials
  • fabrication techniques (molding, 3D printing, photolithography, nanofabrication, hot embossing, etc.)
  • integration
  • sensor integration
  • three-dimensional microfluidics
  • hybrid devices
  • membrane-based microfluidic devices
  • paper-based microfluidic devices
  • fluid handling and automation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 4740 KB  
Article
Rapid Prototyping of Compartmentalized 3D Microfluidic Devices for Organotypic Cell Culture
by Qasem Ramadan, Rana Hazaymeh and Mohamed Zourob
Micromachines 2026, 17(5), 609; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17050609 - 15 May 2026
Viewed by 132
Abstract
We present a modular microfluidic platform for constructing miniaturized, compartmentalized cell culture systems that support monoculture, co-culture, and organ-on-a-chip models of human tissues. The devices provide architecturally defined three-dimensional microenvironments in which heterogeneous cell populations can be cultured in close proximity while maintaining [...] Read more.
We present a modular microfluidic platform for constructing miniaturized, compartmentalized cell culture systems that support monoculture, co-culture, and organ-on-a-chip models of human tissues. The devices provide architecturally defined three-dimensional microenvironments in which heterogeneous cell populations can be cultured in close proximity while maintaining precise spatial organization and independent access to each compartment. In vivo-like perfusion into, from, and between adjacent chambers is achieved via micro-engineered porous barriers that act as perfusion microchannels, enabling controlled convective and diffusive transport and recapitulating paracrine signaling between tissue units. As a proof of concept, we implement an adipose–immune co-culture model that reproduces key features of inflamed, insulin-resistant adipose tissue, including altered cytokine secretion and glucose uptake. Together, these features establish a versatile platform for the biofabrication of customizable single-organ and multi-organ in vitro models that more faithfully recapitulate human tissue structure and function for applications in disease modeling, immunometabolic studies, and preclinical drug testing. Full article
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19 pages, 6782 KB  
Article
Automated Flushing System for Post-Processing in Microfluidic Device Fabrication
by Sebastian Zapata, Brady Goenner, Dallin S. Miner, Bruce K. Gale and Gregory P. Nordin
Micromachines 2026, 17(5), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17050538 - 28 Apr 2026
Viewed by 344
Abstract
Post-processing remains a major bottleneck in the fabrication of microfluidic devices using Digital Light Processing Stereolithography (DLP-SLA) 3D printing, where unpolymerized resin trapped within internal structures must be removed without damaging delicate features such as thin membranes, valves, and pumps. Manual flushing is [...] Read more.
Post-processing remains a major bottleneck in the fabrication of microfluidic devices using Digital Light Processing Stereolithography (DLP-SLA) 3D printing, where unpolymerized resin trapped within internal structures must be removed without damaging delicate features such as thin membranes, valves, and pumps. Manual flushing is slow, inconsistent, and prone to structural failure, especially as device complexity and port counts increase. Here, we present the first fully automated flushing system for DLP-SLA microfluidic devices, enabled by a standardized chip-to-chip (C2C) interconnect architecture and an electronically controlled pneumatic routing platform. A reusable 32-port flushing interface chip provides alignment, sealing, and modular coupling to arbitrary device chips through integrated microgaskets, while a network of electronic pressure controllers, differential pressure sensors, and multi-port rotary valves enable precise, programmable application of pressure, vacuum, and solvent conditions. We introduce a fluidic-circuit model of the system that relates applied pressure to the pressure drop across device structures and experimentally validate this model using channels with varying fluidic resistances. Using this platform, we demonstrate robust flushing of both passive (straight and serpentine channels) and active (valves, pumps) microfluidic elements, as well as application-specific devices including mixers and concentration-gradient generators. Our system eliminates manual handling, improves valve membrane survival, and provides repeatable flushing across a broad range of device geometries. This work establishes a scalable foundation for automated post-processing in 3D-printed microfluidics and significantly advances the practicality of DLP-SLA fabrication for complex, multi-layered microfluidic devices. Full article
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