Inkjet

Polymer electronics plays more and more important role nowadays, especially in flexible electronics. The progress is also reflected in packaging materials and technologies. Metallic solders are replaced by electrically conductive adhesives based on polymer’s matrix. Very high volume production also requires new methods of adhesive deposition. The ink-jet printing technology seems to be very promising for bumps making in Flip- Chip type interconnections. Unfortunately, the technology is only in its infancy.

The present work demonstrates feasibility of an inkjettable, isotropically electrically conductive adhesive in the form of a silver loaded resin with a 2-step curing mechanism. In the first step, the adhesive is dispensed (jetted) and precured leaving a “dry” surface. The second step consists of assembly and final curing. The 2-step cure system is based on a Acrylate-Epoxy-Resin matrix with very low viscosity, i.e., 3 mPas of newtonian properties. Spheroidal silver particles of high purity and a compatible organic coating have been loaded at 70% by weight.

Many advanced medical and biological devices require microscale patterning of cells, proteins, and other biological materials. This article describes the use of piezoelectric ink jet processing in the fabrication of biosensors, cell-based assays, and other microscale medical devices. A microelectromechanical system-based piezoelectric transducer was used to develop uniform fluid flow through nozzles and to prepare well-defined microscale patterns of proteins, monofunctional acrylate ester, sinapinic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and DNA scaffolds on relevant substrates.

A photometric assay was developed to study the surface erosion of polymeric nanoparticles. The hydrolytic degradation of polyalkylcyanoacrylate particles was studied in different environments (NaOH, buffer, cell culture medium and serum). The influence of particle modification on the degradation rate was assessed. Particularly, the effect of polymer coating for particle targeting and fluorescence labelling was investigated. From the absorption data, a t 50% and t 100% can be calculated for fast degrading particles and obtained by an extrapolation in case of a slow degradation process.

Synthetic adhesives have largely displaced natural adhesives in the automotive, aerospace, biomedical, electronic, and marine equipment industries over the past century. We have demonstrated the thin film deposition of biological adhesives using piezoelectric inkjet technology. A MEMS based piezoelectric actuator was controlled to jet uniform fluid flow of the adhesive solution through the ink jet nozzles. Microscopic deposition of adhesives enables improved bonding for a range of advanced electronic and biomedical applications.

In this study, we have demonstrated the use of piezoelectric inkjet printing to fabricate microscale patterns of Vetbond® n-butyl cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive. Optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, nanoindentation, and a cell viability assay were used to examine the structural, mechanical, and biological properties of microscale cyanoacrylate patterns. The ability to rapidly fabricate microscale patterns of medical and veterinary adhesives will enable reduced bond lines between tissues, improved tissue integrity, and reduced toxicity.