Additively manufactured lab-on-chip devices

3D printing of microfluidics is in its infancy but it is already demonstrating game-changing potential. The technology offers new capabilities in highly complex geometries that can be designed and printed to high resolutions in many iterations. At Loughborough University our goal is to create smart complex 3D printed bespoke reactors that can adhere to a variety of industrial applications. This work is highly interdisciplinary and is spearheaded by a cross-campus collaborative expert group from Manufacturing and Chemical Engineering, Biology and Chemistry. The presented work was based on the production of a variety of flow reactor Lab-on-Chip (LOC) devices, each possessing unique capabilities in regards to both sensing and particle manipulation techniques. Multiple applications are covered such as the embedding of metal coated optical fibres and electronics within a metal matrix for inline sensing capabilities; the manufacture of high pressure and high temperature metal matrix LOC devices for application in supercritical fluid chemistry and hostile sampling; and the design and optimisation of magnetic particle continuous flow separators. The results are demonstrated for all three of the above mentioned applications and the outcomes, to date, of the individual projects will be concluded with the expected further work.