3D Hydrogel Manufacturing Employing Self-Focusing During Photo-Curing Process

This work proposes a 3D lithography technique with self-focusing during polymerization based on refractive-indices change of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) (Fig. 1). Compared to the previous work, the present work enables to fabricate 3D structures using single UV exposure and theoretically estimate 3D features. We demonstrate the potential of the self-focusing 3D lithography by fabricating PEGDA microneedles and trapezoid-shaped wells. Their structures well match to our theoretical estimation. Therefore, our theoretical approach shows its potential for on-demand, complicated 3D structures of refractive-indices-variable materials with single UV exposure.