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. 2015 Jun 23;9(3):036502. doi: 10.1063/1.4922962

FIG. 1.

FIG. 1.

Au-epoxy master production. (a) Schematic of the replica molding process starting from the SU8-Si master (step 1) to the Au-epoxy master (step 7) to the generation of a PDMS device (step 9). A PDMS replica of the SU8-Si master (steps 1–3) is used to mold the epoxy contained within a suitable container, such as a petri dish (dashed lines) (steps 4–6). The surface of the epoxy is then coated with Cr/Au to facilitate future PDMS demolding (steps 7–9). (b) Diagram of a PDMS microfluidic culture device for neurons which contains varying feature heights: ∼4 mm wells for loading solution into the channels; ∼100 μm high cell compartments which house the neurons; and ∼4 μm tall microgrooves which allow growth of axons and dendrites, but not cell bodies. We used this microfluidic device configuration as a model for the remainder of this study. (c) Photograph of a Au-epoxy master contained in a standard 100 mm × 50 mm petri dish for PDMS casting.