Polymer | Characteristics | Possible applications |
---|---|---|
PLA | Advantage: • Easy to use • Recyclable • Transparent • Low auto-fluorescence [53] • No absorption of small molecules [53] Disadvantage: • Hydroscopic material – swelling in water • Lactic acid as degradation product • Can show cytotoxic effects | Prototype design Organ on-chip [53] Cell culture [53] Incorporation of Microelectrodes [54] |
PMMA | Advantage: • Transparent • Surface modification [50] • Heat resistant up to 90 °C [55] • Impermeable to air [56] • UV-resistant • Resistant to many acids, bases, alcohols, oils and fats [57] Disadvantage: • Not resistant to many organic solvents | PCR-on-chip [50] Electrochemical detection [54, 63] Colorimetric assays |
PC | Advantage: • Transparent • Heat resistant up to 140 °C [52] • Acid resistance [51] • Naturally hydrophilic surface [65] • Surface modification [66] Disadvantage: • Sensitive during printing process: environmental conditions • Poor adhesion properties during the printing process | Electrochemical detection [54, 67] Biomedical studies [68] Droplet generation [65] |