Manufacturing of a polymeric membrane with integrated porous electrode

Abstract

A manufacturing technology is proposed to manufacture polymeric membrane scaffolds for culturing of cells, tissues, and organoids with integrated sensor capabilities and fluidic functionalities. A multilayer substrate is imprinted with a soft mold to manufacture polymeric membrane scaffolds for culturing of cells, tissues, and organoids with integrated sensor capabilities and fluidic functionalities. Aside from exploiting the well characterized, simple and low cost techniques that can be employed in polymer manufacturing, the use of solely polymeric materials increases the opportunities for functional integration, while at the same time allowing for the translation of complex cleanroom fabrication processes into mold-based replication techniques. With this developed manufacturing technology, it is demonstrated that it is possible to manufacture membrane scaffolds with integrated porous electrode up to 1mm by 1mm in effective surface area, with a thickness of 10 µm, with control over the pore diameter (as small as 400 nm), the porosity, and the location of the pores. The morphological characterization is done by scanning electron microscopy. The integrated porous electrode’ performance is characterized electrically by a 4-point probe and electrochemically by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Showing the possibility to use the conductive layer to give cells electrical stimuli and for the use as a biosensor.