{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T08:16:01Z","timestamp":1773044161793,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,5]],"date-time":"2024-02-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1707091200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Mark Diamond Research Fund of the Graduate Student Association"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Micromachines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A wax-based contact printing method to create microfluidic devices is demonstrated. This printing technology demonstrates a new pathway to rapid, cost-effective device prototyping, eliminating the use of expensive micromachining equipment and chemicals. Derived from the traditional Ukrainian Easter egg painting technique called \u201cpysanky\u201d a series of microfluidic devices were created. Pysanky is the use of a heated wax stylus, known as a \u201ckistka\u201d, to create micro-sized, intricate designs on the surface of an egg. The proposed technique involves the modification of an x-y-z actuation translation system with a wax extruder tip in junction with Polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) device fabrication techniques. Initial system optimization was performed considering design parameters such as extruder tip size, contact angle, write speed, substrate temperature, and wax temperature. Channels created ranged from 160 to 900 \u03bcm wide and 10 to 150 \u03bcm high based upon system operating parameters set by the user. To prove the capabilities of this technology, a series of microfluidic mixers were created via the wax technique as well as through traditional photolithography: a spiral mixer, a rainbow mixer, and a linear serial dilutor. A thermo-fluidic computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model was generated as a means of enabling rational tuning, critical to the optimization of systems in both normal and extreme conditions. A comparison between the computational and experimental models yielded a wax height of 57.98 \u03bcm and 57.30 \u03bcm, respectively, and cross-sectional areas of 11,568 \u03bcm2 and 12,951 \u03bcm2, respectively, resulting in an error of 1.18% between the heights and 10.76% between the cross-sectional areas. The device\u2019s performance was then compared using both qualitative and quantitative measures, considering factors such as device performance, channel uniformity, repeatability, and resolution.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/mi15020240","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,5]],"date-time":"2024-02-05T05:22:44Z","timestamp":1707110564000},"page":"240","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Pysanky to Microfluidics: An Innovative Wax-Based Approach to Low Cost, Rapid Prototyping of Microfluidic Devices"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Philip J.","family":"Schneider","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"SMALL (Sensors and Micro Actuators Learning Lab), Department of Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY at Buffalo), Buffalo, NY 14260, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1669-2788","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Liam B.","family":"Christie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SMALL (Sensors and Micro Actuators Learning Lab), Department of Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY at Buffalo), Buffalo, NY 14260, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nicholas M.","family":"Eadie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY at Buffalo), Buffalo, NY 14260, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tyler J.","family":"Siskar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY at Buffalo), Buffalo, NY 14260, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Viktor","family":"Sukhotskiy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SMALL (Sensors and Micro Actuators Learning Lab), Department of Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY at Buffalo), Buffalo, NY 14260, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6515-5543","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Domin","family":"Koh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SMALL (Sensors and Micro Actuators Learning Lab), Department of Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY at Buffalo), Buffalo, NY 14260, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1897-8915","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anyang","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SMALL (Sensors and Micro Actuators Learning Lab), Department of Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY at Buffalo), Buffalo, NY 14260, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0078-6683","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kwang W.","family":"Oh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SMALL (Sensors and Micro Actuators Learning Lab), Department of Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY at Buffalo), Buffalo, NY 14260, USA"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY at Buffalo), Buffalo, NY 14260, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Brander, J. 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