The invention relates to a process for manufacturing a microfluidic chip comprising a solid material obtained from a sol-gel solution, the process comprising successively: a) casting a sol-gel solution made with tetraethyl orthosilicate onto a mold presenting a relief pattern and having a different thickness over the whole of the mold; b) gelling the sol-gel solution; c) unmolding and drying the gel obtained in b), so as to obtain a solid glass; and d) bonding said solid glass to a support, so as to obtain the microfluidic chip.

Methods for fabricating three-dimensional microstructures are provided. The method includes disposing a reflow material on a mold, heating the reflow material, and creating a pressure gradient across the reflow material to reflow the material towards a bottom surface of the mold. The mold includes a molding region, a boundary region, and a thermal-isolating region disposed therebetween. The molding region includes a cavity and a projection projecting upwards from a bottom surface of the cavity. The thermal-isolating region includes at least one pocket formed adjacent to and along a perimeter of the cavity of the molding region. During heating, the temperature of the molding region is higher than that of the boundary region and the thermal-isolating region controls the thermal conductivity and mass therebetween. The material reflows towards the bottom surface of the cavity and the protrusion helps shapes the reflow material to form a substantially symmetrical three-dimensional microstructure.

The subject disclosure is directed to antimicrobial bandages with nanostructures, formation thereof, and usage thereof to facilitate wound healing. In one embodiment, a bandage apparatus that facilitates healing a wound is provided. The bandage apparatus comprises a substrate comprising an attachment mechanism that facilitates removably attaching the substrate to a part of a body comprising the wound. The bandage apparatus further comprises a nanostructure film provided on a surface of the substrate and configured to contact the wound when the substrate is attached to the part of the body comprising the wound, wherein the nanostructure film comprises a plurality of nanostructures.

A system including two components intended to be in friction contact with each other in a given direction, wherein the friction occurs in a functional area, wherein the system is at least one of the two components including, on a surface in the functional area, a texture formed of a series of troughs of rounded shape separated by peaks or a series of bumps of rounded shape separated by troughs, the troughs extending parallel in the given direction and allowing for the evacuation of debris produced by friction and serving as a reservoir for a lubricant. A method for manufacturing at least one component or a mold by the DRIE (deep reactive ion etching) process, wherein surface defects on the sidewalls machined by the DRIE process are used to form the troughs.

The present invention discloses a bionic SERS substrate of a metal-based compound eye bowl structure, a construction method and application. The bionic SERS substrate of the metal-based compound eye bowl structure of the present invention consists of a metal bowl and a cone-shaped structure substrate in an ordered hierarchy manner. The metal bowl is of a continuously and closely arranged single-layer bowl structure. A height of the metal bowl is 0.01-10 μm, and a bowl opening diameter is 0.01-10 μm. A cone is a micron pyramid cone, and a height of the micron pyramid cone is 1-100 μm. The present invention assembles the metal bowl on a surface of the substrate of the micron pyramid cone structure with great fluctuation by a solid-liquid interface chemical reduction method and a small ball template method, and further constructs a 3D SERS substrate with a bionic compound eye structure.

Large bioreactors based on microfluidic technology, and methods of manufacturing the same, are provided, The big microbioreactor can include a chip or substrate having the microfluidic channels thereon, and the chip can be manufactured by forming a master mold, forming a male mold from a photopolymer plate using replica molding with the Fmold, and transferring features of the male to a polymer material.

The presently disclosed subject matter describes the use of fluorinated elastomer-based materials, in particular perfluoropolyether (PFPE)-based materials, in high-resolution soft or imprint lithographic applications, such as micro- and nanoscale replica molding, and the first nano-contact molding of organic materials to generate high fidelity features using an elastomeric mold. Accordingly, the presently disclosed subject matter describes a method for producing free-standing, isolated nanostructures of any shape using soft or imprint lithography technique.

A method of making microstructures having re-entrant or doubly re-entrant topology includes forming a mold defining the negative surface features of the re-entrant or doubly re-entrant topology that is to be formed. In one embodiment, a soft or flowable material is formed on a first substrate and the mold is contacted with the same to form a solid, now positive surface having the re-entrant or doubly re-entrant topology. The mold is then released from the first substrate. The microstructures are secured to a second, different substrate, and the first substrate is removed. Any residual microstructure material located between adjacent microstructures may be removed to form the separate microstructures on the second substrate. The second substrate may be thin and flexible any manipulated into useful or desired shapes having the microstructures on one side thereof.

In a general aspect, an apparatus can include a substrate and a post disposed on the substrate. The post can include a plurality of nanotubes and extend substantially vertically from the substrate. The post can have an aspect ratio of a height of the post to a diameter of the post of greater than or equal to 25:1.

Method of manufacturing a micromechanical component intended to cooperate with another micromechanical component, the method comprising the steps of providing a substrate, forming a mould on said substrate, said mould defining sidewalls arranged to delimit said micromechanical component, providing particles on at least said sidewalls, depositing a metal in said mould so as to form said micromechanical component, and liberating said micromechanical component from said mould and removing said particles.