High-Definition Microfluidics 3D Printer - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The requested instrument is a high-definition 3D printer, specially designed for fabrication of microfluidic devices. The specific product is the ProFluidics 285D system by CADworks3D (Concord, Ontario, Canada). The instrument is needed to enable rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices, intended for biomedical research and hands-on education at San Jose State University (SJSU). This instrument will provide an overall benefit to SJSU's research and education by virtue of its speed, cost effectiveness, versatility with complex geometries, and biocompatible materials. The broad, long-term objectives of the PI and fellow Major Users are (1) to interrogate microscale biological phenomena under physiologically-relevant flow conditions; (2) to innovate engineering solutions that address the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and cure of human diseases; and (2) to educate, train, and motivate students in hands-on microscale engineering. Access to this instrument will stimulate biomedical research by enabling several investigators at SJSU (spearheaded by initially 6 investigators as Majors Users) to conduct experimental studies across important areas of biofluid mechanics and biotransport phenomena. The topics of research conducted by the Major Users include hemodynamics, endothelial mechanobiology, mitochondrial mechanotransduction, cell sorting, tissue scaffolding, breastfeeding, swallowing mechanics, and neurotoxin detection. These investigators and their intramural and extramural collaborators also conduct research in complementary areas (e.g., thrombosis, biorobotics, wearable health monitoring, generative design with artificial intelligence) that can also benefit from the micron-scale rapid prototyping capabilities of the ProFluidics 285D system. Access to this instrument will support education at our institution most specifically by serving two hands-on laboratory courses as Major Users: an undergraduate elective course in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and microfluidics, and a graduate course on experimental methods in biomedical engineering. In the microfluidics class, the requested 3D printer will be used predominantly for the open-ended class term project, in which students collaborate in small teams to propose, design, prototype, and demonstrate a functional microfluidic device. The graduate class in experimental methods also has an open-ended group project, for which microfabrication and process troubleshooting have demanded a large fraction of time. The speed and robustness of fabricating functional devices with the requested 3D printer will allow students to direct more attention to experimental design (with more variables that can be otherwise considered), data acquisition, and application of statistical analysis to real-time data. The instrument will also be made available for master's thesis projects, undergraduate senior design projects, and SJSU-hosted community college programs.
