Micromechanical Punching: A Versatile Method for Non-Spherical Microparticle Fabrication

Microparticles are ubiquitous in applications ranging from electronics and drug delivery to cosmetics and food. Conventionally, non-spherical microparticles in various materials with specific shapes, sizes, and physicochemical properties have been fabricated using cleanroom-free lithography techniques such as soft lithography and its high-resolution version particle replication in non-wetting template (PRINT). These methods process the particle material in its liquid/semi-liquid state by deformable molds, limiting the materials from which the particles and the molds can be fabricated. In this study, the microparticle material is exploited as a sheet placed on a deformable substrate, punched by a robust mold. Drawing inspiration from the macro-manufacturing technique of punching metallic sheets, Micromechanical Punching (MMP) is a high-throughput technique for fabrication of non-spherical microparticles. MMP allows production of microparticles from prepatterned, porous, and fibrous films, constituting thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. As an illustration of application of MMP in drug delivery, flat, microdisk-shaped Furosemide embedded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microparticles are fabricated and Furosemide release is observed. Thus, it is shown in the paper that Micromechanical punching has potential to make micro/nanofabrication more accessible to the research and industrial communities active in applications that require engineered particles.