The microstructure facility (MSF) is a joint facility of CRTD, B Cube and Biotec. It provides cutting edge technologies, installed inside a clean room, for the micro-structuring of organic/inorganic materials and the fabrication of polymeric devices, mainly for biological and biophysical applications.

The MSF offers full set of skills and capabilities within material science, photolithography, soft lithography, polymer microstructuring, thin film deposition and microfluidics.

MSF focuses on developing strong collaborations with researchers, supporting research projects for the optimization and testing of specific microfabrication steps or complete processes and devices. 

Nevertheless the facility provides also service for user interested to use the equipment by themselves after a specific training. A general fee is charged to get access to the facility and costs are evaluated depending on specific materials, process development and equipment used.

The facility provides services and scientific support within:

• Microfabrication technologies
• Microfluidics
• Dropelt microfluidics
• Microgel beads

Services we offer:

The microsctructure facility offers a wide range of processing services, often in combination with core competences, but also independently. We perform highly specialized process steps as part of customer device production cycle, developing specific microfabrication steps or complete processes.
 

Services List

• Substrate and photo mask cleaning (megasonic spin coater)
• Thin film metal deposition (thermal evaporator)
• Thin film deposition (spin coating)
• Design and fabrication of master template, photoresist or silicon (photolithography or wet etching)
• Step height and roughness analysis (profilometer)
• Design and fabrication of microstructured polymeric surface (soft lithography on elastomer)
• Design and fabrication of Microelectrode Arrays (MEA), (photolithography, thermal evaporation, lift off)
• Design, fabrication and optimization of microfluidic devices
• Design and fabrication of stamp for UV Nanoimprinting Lithography (UV-NIL)
• Design and fabrication of stamp for Microcontact printing (µCP)
• Surface micropatterning with protein
• PDMS/PDMS ; PDMS/Glass ; PDMS/SU8 bonding
• Control of the surface wetting properties through chemical and physical process (hydrophobic/hydrophilic)
• Surface functionalization (Anti Sticking Layer)
• Microemulsion production: water in oil (W/O) or oil in water (O/W) monodisperse micro-droplets
• Design and production of microgel beads with tailored size, shape and stiffness
• Production of protein-coated and DNA-coated microgel beads
• Hydrogel beads functionalized with DNA primers for In-Drop single cell transcriptomics
• Microfluidic device for cell/bead encapsulation in droplets (In-drop single cell transcriptomics)
• Microfluidic molecules transfection into cell membrane (alternative to electroporation)
• Liposome production by microfluidics