Flexible Materials for High-Resolution 3D Printing of Microfluidic Devices with Integrated Droplet Size Regulation

-hexane, and HFE-7500. The mechanical properties are predestined for 3D-printing microfluidic devices with integrated functional units that require high material flexibility. Exemplarily, we design flexible microchannels for on-demand regulation of microdroplet sizes in microemulsion formation. Our two outlines of integrated droplet regulators operate by injecting defined volumes of air, which deform the droplet-forming microchannel cross-junction, and change the droplet size therein. With this study, we expand the library of functional resins for PμSL printing toward flexible materials with micrometer resolution and provide the basis for further exploration of these materials, e.g., as microstructured cell-culturing substrates with defined mechanics.