Fabrication of microfluidic devices for artificial respiration

We are developing elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices incorporated with photoactive thin films to create an implantable artificial respiration platform. Whereas state-of-the-art respiration support machines deliver oxygen gas directly to the blood via external macroscale devices, our technique utilizes a biomimetic photocatalytic process to generate energy from light and thus produce dissolved oxygen from water which is already present in the blood. Blood oxygenation will be achieved by the interaction between the photoactivated metal oxide film and blood in the setting of a molded microfluidic conduit, providing a stable and implantable oxygenation platform. As a basic, scalable building block, we developed a noble "network" design which was structurally similar to the native pulmonary capillary network. The interconnected channel geometry was designed in such a way to minimize shear stress and reduce hemolysis and thrombosis inside the microchannel. It allowed alternative flow pathways in the event of single channel occlusion while minimizing the establishment of detrimental pressure gradients. The hemocompatibility analysis demonstrated that the network construct showed acceptable levels of hemolysis rate (< 8%) and thrombus formation.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Park, Hyesung, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Todd Thorsen and Richard Gilbert.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40370

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40370