Polymers made for microfluidics
OSTEMER Crystal Clear
OSTEMER 322 Crystal Clear is a polymer for rapid prototyping and manufacturing of microfluidic devices. The devices are stiff and transparent and do not absorb small molecules or swell in the most common solvents. The unique direct dry bonding enables easy assembly of multi-materials devices without using plasma, glue or adhesives. The material has been tested to be compatible with numerous cell lines.
The OSTEMER Crystal Clear is a two-stage cure polymer. After mixing the two components the liquid resin is first shaped by UV-casting or injection molding, using a rapid UV-cure (365 nm), to form a rubbery PDMS-like sticker. The sticker is removed from the mold, aligned to a substrate or sandwiched with another material, and thereafter thermally hardened in an oven to stiffen and form a bond. The OSTEMER 322 uses a built-in epoxy bonding mechanism and can therefore bond to a very large range of different materials.
Being UV-curing, OSTEMER Crystal Clear can also be shaped by direct lithography using glass or plastic masks and collimated UV-light.
Key benefits:
- Rapid turn-around times for prototyping
- Very low shrinkage
- Easily bond with other materials without need for plasma, adhesives or glue
- End-result looks and feels like injection molded thermoplastics
- Can be surface modified to desired wetting (of hydrophobic) properties
- Confirmed compatible with many cell lines
- Can be shaped by molding, lithography, milling, and more
Recommended articles featuring OSTEMER Crystal Clear:
- N. Sandstrom et al., “Reaction injection molding and direct covalent bonding of OSTE+ polymer microfluidic devices,” JMM, 2015
- D. Sticker et al., “Microfluidic Migration and Wound Healing Assay Based on Mechanically Induced Injuries of Defined and Highly Reproducible Areas,” Anal. Chem., 2017
Key properties
| First cure | UV exposure, 365 nm |
| Second cure | Oven cure 90-110°C, 1 hour |
| Young’s modulus | 1.5 GPa after full cure |
| Color | Optically clear (390 – 900 nm), low autofluorescence |
| Bonds to | Glass, silicon, metals, metal oxides, other OSTEMER products |
| Polymerisation shrinkage | < 1%, the resin has a very late gel point, so by having connected unexposed reservoirs during the UV-cure, the shrinkage can be reduced to almost 0%. |
| Solvent resistance | Toluene, Acetone, DMSO, Ethanol, Methanol |
| Acid resistance | 10% sulfuric acid > 1 month |
| Compatible molds | Patterned silicone (PDMS), aluminum, PET, or any material coated with a release coating |
Typical molding process
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OSTEMER Crystal Clear is product from Mecene Labs AB, maker of resins for microsystem technology. Since the introduction of OSTEMER polymers we now have more than 100 customers worldwide, both companies and academic research groups. All of our OSTEMER products are produced in Sweden and we ship worldwide, usually within 5-7 days.
Mercene Labs AB / Teknikringen 38, 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden (EU-VAT SE5568837354) – sales@ostemers.com