Study of the Surface Morphology of Microfluidic-Chip Channels via X-Ray Tomography and Scanning Electron Microscopy.

The visualization of microfluidic chips is considered to study the morphology of the microfluidic channel surface and estimate the quality of 3D-printing technology based on digital light processing. Visualization is performed by X-ray microtomography using different iodine-based contrast agents and by scanning electron microscopy. It is shown that X-ray microtomography visualization makes it possible to control the quality of device printing relative to the geometrical parameters of the models specified at the device prototyping stage, as well as to visualize a 3D model of microfluidic channels and surface morphology. The spatial resolution of scanning electron microscopy exceeds the print pixel size and makes it possible to clarify the presence of local defects caused by uneven solidification of the resin during sample washing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]