We present an easy and effective method for the encapsulation of cells inside PEG-based hydrogel microstructures fabricated using photolithography. High-density arrays of three-dimensional microstructures were created on substrates using this method. Mammalian cells were encapsulated in cylindrical hydrogel microstructures of 600 and 50 micrometers in diameter or in cubic hydrogel structures in...

The tensile behaviours of [111]-oriented SiC nanowires with various microstructures are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations. The results revealed the influence of microstructures on the brittleness and plasticity of SiC nanowires. Plastic deformation is mainly induced by the anti-parallel sliding of 3C grains along an intergranular amorphous film parallel to the plane and incli...

The Eocene (∾48 Ma) Messel Pit in Germany is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its exceptionally preserved fossils, including vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Messel fossil vertebrates are typically characterized by their articulated state, and in some cases the skin, hair, feathers, scales and stomach contents are also preserved. Despite the exceptional macroscopic preservation of...

The microstructures and the phase transformation temperatures of sputtered titanium–nickel (TiNi) thin films, both free-standing and attached on different underlying multi-layer substrates, have been studied. Differences in the microstructures, such as the lattice constants and relative concentrations of TiNi, Ti2Ni and TiNi3 phases, have been observed among the free-standing and the attached f...

In this paper we generalize the periodic unfolding method and the notion of twoscale convergence on surfaces of periodic microstructures to locally periodic situations. The methods that we introduce allow us to consider a wide range of nonperiodic microstructures, especially to derive macroscopic equations for problems posed in domains with perforations distributed nonperiodically. Using the me...

Creatv MicroTech has developed unique fabrication techniques to make high precision, high-aspectratio metal microstructures to custom specifications. A lithography based fabrication method permits precise fabrication of various microstructures. Collimators and antiscatter grids with continuous, smooth, thin, parallel or focused septa have been fabricated using deep X-ray and optical lithography...

We present a numerical method to find specific composite microstructures with targeted effective properties. The effective properties that may be prescribed are quite diverse and include transport, mechanical, and electromagnetic properties, as well as properties associated with coupled phenomena, such as piezoelectric and thermoelectric coefficients. We formulated the target problem as an opti...

A method for simultaneously forming microstructures in substrates and altering their chemical character. The method involves exposing a surface portion of a substrate to light source, which is strong enough and of the appropriate wavelength to cause ablation of the substrate. The ablation of the substrate is controlled to form microstructures therein, such as channels. The ablation is conducted...

Steels are being designed with ever decreasing interstitial contents. At the same time, processing technology allows accelerated cooling without excessive distortion or microstructural gradients [1–5]. Lean steels with lower ‘carbon equivalents’ can therefore be manufactured, making fabrication relatively easy. Alloys such as these give uniform microstructures in spite of solidfication–induced ...

Micro-stereolithography ( SL) is capable of fabrication of highly complex three-dimensional (3D) microstructures by selectively photo-induced polymerization from the monomer resin. However, during the evaporative drying of structures from liquid resin, the 3D microstructures often collapse due to the capillary force. In this work, a theoretical model is developed to analyze the deflection and a...