By 3D-printing microfluidic parts as monolithic structures and then adding functional coatings, Horizon Microtechnologies is enabling leak-free devices with fully three-dimensional channel networks — without bonded layer interfaces and, in many cases, with much simpler (or no dedicated) capillary priming as well as electrical properties.
Microfluidics play a critical role in applications such as medical diagnostics, drug delivery, environmental monitoring, and fluid dynamics research. Traditional fabrication techniques in glass, silicon, or PDMS typically require many lithography, bonding, metallisation, and assembly steps, often repeated for every layer and across multiple tools, followed by interfacing with the electrical and fluidic periphery. By contrast, Horizon’s micro-AM process produces the entire architecture (channels, reservoirs, manifolds, and even integrated microneedle arrays) in one build directly from CAD, forming the basis for a tightly streamlined process chain, essentially print, develop, coat.
The company’s proprietary post-build coatings turn the 3D polymer structures into fully functional microfluidic devices. Surface-energy tuning improves wetting and flow behaviour, helping engineers control priming, avoid trapped bubbles, and achieve predictable liquid handling in lab-on-a-chip diagnostics, drug microdosing, and high-precision analysis.
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Beyond surface modifications, Horizon can selectively introduce electrical conductivity within channels and around functional regions, creating embedded micro-electrodes and conductivity paths for real-time sensing, electrokinetic flow control, electrophoretic separation, and static-charge mitigation. In microneedle-based systems, for example, integrated electrodes can support electrochemical sensing at the point of sampling, combining biocompatible, minimally invasive access to tissue or interstitial fluid with high-fidelity analytical capability in a single monolithic component.
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When required, the base polymer system can be chosen from biocompatible materials that have passed standard tests for cytotoxicity, irritation, and sensitisation, making the resulting devices suitable for contact with biological samples and, in many cases, patient-facing applications. At the same time, printing and coating processes are tuned so that designated regions remain flat and optically clear, providing high-quality windows for imaging, fluorescence readout, or particle tracking without additional assembly steps.
“When you combine micro-AM with our coating toolbox, you get microfluidic platforms that are much closer to finished products than to simple test structures,” says Andreas Frölich, CEO of Horizon Microtechnologies. “We can deliver geometry, surface behaviour, electrical function, and optical access as one integrated solution, which simplifies development, improves reliability, and accelerates the path from concept to functional hardware.”
Whether the goal is a microneedle array for microdosing and sampling, a compact diagnostic cartridge, or a microfluidic platform with integrated electrodes and optics, Horizon’s print–develop–coat process offers a practical route from CAD geometry to functionally coated, biocompatible, optically clear hardware ready for testing and scale-up.
Interested in enhancing your microfluidic devices? Contact Horizon today.
