Every day it seems as if the medical field is finding new ways to exploit the rapidly expanding technology of 3D printing. We have seen 3D printed human cells, 3d printed prosthetics, and now tiny 3D printed molds are being used to create medical devices for cancer research.

Potomac Photonics teamed with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to try and unclog the bottleneck that existed in the microfabricationn of tiny PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) microchambers, which are used by researchers to grow cancer cells in a controlled environment.

Maxime Deforet, the Program Director at Sloan Kettering Institute, stated that “These Acrylic 3D-printed prototypes are molds, subsequently used for PDMS microfabrication. PDMS microchambers are now broadly used for biology and biomedical applications. However, development of such microfabricated devices (often based on photolithography) can be a bottleneck as it requires costly equipment and long process cycles. Acrylic 3D printing allows rapid prototyping of microfluidic assay for moderate price. In particular, the mold shown here is used to make a PDMS microchamber for cancer cell growth in a controlled environment.”

Potomac Photonics, who is not unfamiliar with 3D printing tiny medical devices and molds, has recently been partnering with several Universities as well as companies in an effort to streamline the production of devices which can be used to both find cures for, and treat various forms of cancer. The project was partially funded by Potomac Photonics Educational Manufacturing Initiative, who works to connect Universities and companies in a way that maximizes progress in the development of cancer research and therapy devices. Discuss this news story at 3DPrintBoard.com.