Hello everyone,
I was wondering whether anyone had experience getting thin slices of PDMS. The PDMS samples we want to examine start off already being 0.8 - 1.5 mm in thickness, but we would like to be able to cut them further into thinner slices (as thin as possible). We have a cryomicrotome system which we regularly use to cut OCT-embedded samples, and we wonder if the setup could be adapted to cut the PDMS. I do have some concerns about the rubbery nature of PDMS that might make it difficult to cut.
If there is anyone who has some insight into this, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
I think spin-coating it on a glass substrate and then peeling it off might help get a very thin PDMS slices. A release layer in between will be needed to peel off the PDMS. You can look into this paper ( Fabrication and transfer of fragile 3D PDMS microstructures, J Mikael Karlsson et.al) to see if this can be of some help to get what you want.
Also, I came across this RSC blog (http://blogs.rsc.org/chipsandtips/2012/04/18/easy-and-inexpensive-fabrication-of-pdms-films-of-different-thicknesses/?doing_wp_cron=1535637860.8474659919738769531250) where they talk about squeezing PDMS between two plates. Probably an alternate way to try, although I have no personal experience with this.
I am not sure if cutting is the best option. As you mentioned, PDMS is very elastic and flexible.
As suggested by Sriram, you can try to spin coat a layer of PMDS on top of a glass slide. You can use a cutter and peel off the PDMS layer carefully.
We have had some luck by freezing the PDMS in liquid nitrogen before slicing. Most cryotomes are only getting in the -30 to -50C range and PDMS is still rubbery at those temperatures. PDMS is very difficult to cut. You really just break it in a controlled manner. Having it bonded on glass helps too, otherwise it is quite difficult to mount.
Hi Sebastian
As others have mentioned, I think it would be best to spin coat. You can release the PDMS by using PVA or PAA as sacrificial layer. I have made PDMS with thickness ranging from 10micron to 40micron. You can adjust PDMS mixing ratio to 1:1 or 1:2. Adding Toluene or n-hexane before spin coating might also help you.
I hope this helps. All the best.
Pankaj Mogha
Hi, could you please share with us the easy way you mentioned for cutting the PDMS sections of the desired thickness?
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