Needle-Type Oxygen Microsensor Made by Hybrid 3D Microfabrication

In building a lab automation system for organoid assays, multi-parameter sensors which measures are important for high-throughput measurement. Conventional needle-type sensors using glass processing cannot reproduce the complex structure of the needle tip required for multi-parameter sensors. Therefore, a fabrication method combining photolithographic 3D printing, which can fabricate complex microstructures, and electrode fabrication using photolithography was selected. In this study, needle-type microsensors were fabricated using this processing method. A major challenge was the formation of an oxygen-permeable membrane on the tip of the microscopic needle, which was solved by diluting the membrane solution with a volatile organic solvent. In this study, we used this processing method to fabricate a needle-type microsensor. Furthermore, we devised a solution to the major problem of forming an oxygen permeable membrane on the tip of the microscopic needle. Here, we confirmed experimentally that the thickness of the thin membrane can be controlled, and evaluated the fabricated sensor.