Hybrid Fabrication Method for Microfluidic Channels Within a Polymer Nanocomposite for Neural Interfacing Applications

Abstract

Microfluidic intracortical neural probes were developed using a mechanically-adaptive polymer nanocomposite. Three different microfluidic channel fabrication methods were explored: Emboss-only, Mold-only, and a hybrid Mold/Emboss method. Films produced from each method were inspected and characterized using microscopy and profilometry. Further, we studied the ability of each approach to produce probes with functional microfluidic channels. The results indicate that the hybrid Mold/Emboss method had the highest fidelity transfer of the channel pattern to the polymer nanocomposite and was most successful in producing functional microfluidic probes. This process will help to increase the functionality and long-term viability and reliability of NC neural probes.