Three-dimensional SU-8 microtiles for fluidic self-assembly

We present an innovative design and fabrication process for three-dimensional polymeric microtiles. Our 200 µm-sized tiles are passive vehicles designed to investigate SA in a microfluidic chamber, as an extension of our centimeter scale studies [5]. They are conceived by superposing two structural layers with inverted chiral patterns and fourfold in-plane symmetry (Fig. 1a). The tiles interact laterally, either at a liquid/liquid interface or in bulk liquid (Fig. 2). The design makes the tiles available for coordination independently of their vertical orientation, unlike e.g. [4]. They also feature a central marker for optical tracking and control (Fig. 1b). The microtiles—with overhanging and straight walls needed for intimatecontact—cannot evidently be fabricated by microstereolithography or by simple lithographical patterning.
info:eu-repo/semantics/published