Undergraduate Student Pablo Jimenez-Corredor has won first place at this year's Nanotechnology Student Advisory Council (NSAC) Undergraduate Student Research Symposium at Discovery Park. His research poster is titled "Low-Cost, Biocompatible Packaging Technique for Implantable Biomedical Devices".

The NASC symposium consists of undergraduate students who have worked over the summer on research projects. Pablo's research consisted of the manufacturing and packaging validation testing of a low-cost, biocompatible packaging technique developed to improve the life-time of implantable biomedical devices that use these polymer-based packaging. Some implantable biomedical devices that have been developed in lab require polymer-based packaging as titanium packaging will not allow for RF signal transmission, which is what would allow some implantable biomedical monitoring devices to be wireless. Polymer-based packaging manufacturing also has a significantly lower cost then the industrial manufacturing and processing of titanium, which is a good reason to try to improve the durability of the polymer-based packaging.

Abstract

Low-cost, biocompatible packaging technique for the implantable biomedical devices

Traditional commercial packaging for biomedical devices makes use of Titanium as a biocompatible material, but this has expensive manufacturing and absorbs RF signal communication. Polymer-based packaging for medical devices in vitro has shown biocompatibility at low-cost manufacturing and wireless communication compatibility. We present a packaging technique for micro-devices that makes use of polymer-based packaging that offers longevity. This technique uses five layers consisting of PDMS, Parylene-C, and rigid acrylic. The fabrication begins with the laser machining of the rigid acrylic case and Parylene-C coating of the device. The casing is an assembly of three acrylic pieces: a 5mm spacer and two 2mm pieces for the top and base. The base is bonded to the spacer with acrylic adhesive and the Parylene-C coated device is placed inside the casing. The casing is filled with PDMS that cures prior to adhering the top acrylic piece. The casing is then coated with a 32 μm thick layer of parylene-C and placed in a mold to be engulfed with a layer of PDMS, completing the manufacturing process. These packages were tested in vitro in a phosphate buffered saline solution at 40°C and 80°C to account for body temperature, and acceleration temperature, respectively. The PBS was dyed with evans blue as a marker for leaking. Ten packages were placed in 80°C and nine in the 40°C. After one month, in 80°C there were two failures due to leaking and one due to coat tearing by mishandling. There were no failed packages in 40°C.