© 2012 Matsuura and Naruse, licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Use of Silicone Elastomer-Based Microfluidic Devices and Systems in Reproductiv...

Silicone foam elastomer is used extensively to treat granulating wounds. A case is presented in which the catalyst to the polymer was inadvertently applied to the eye. This produced conjunctival and corneal injury, which was slow to heal and resistant to conventional treatment. This form of injury has not previously been described.

An elastomer-based energy storage system for MEMS has been designed, built, and tested. Micro rubber bands have been fabricated from silicone using two different methods, laser-cut and molded, and assembled into silicon microstructures fabricated in a two-mask silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process. Using silicon hooks and force gauges designed in this process, these micro rubber bands have been ch...

We have microfabricated devices to size and sort microscopic biological objects, ranging from cells to single molecules of DNA. Sizing is accomplished by fluorescent excitation and detection. The devices are fabricated in a silicone elastomer using a replica method. Single molecules of DNA have been sized to 10% accuracy, and manipulation of E. Coli cells has been demonstrated.

Stretchable electronics (i.e., hybrid inorganic or organic circuits integrated on elastomeric substrates) rely on elastic wiring. We present a technique for fabricating reversibly stretchable metallic films by printing silver-based ink onto microstructured silicone substrates. The wetting and pinning of the ink on the elastomer surface is adjusted and optimized by varying the geometry of microp...

The silicone elastomer microvascular casting method is readily adaptable for study of most microcirculatory beds. These perfusion materials are not acutely toxic to the microcirculation. The basic microvascular geometry can be profitably studied with this method and it demonstrates a pattern of right-angle branching in the lung, a manifold pattern at the inflow of the renal glomerulus, and a we...

The mechanical properties of 15 elastomeric liner products used in limb prosthetics were evaluated under compressive, frictional, shear, and tensile loading conditions. All testing was conducted at load levels comparable to interface stress measurements reported on transtibial amputee subjects. For each test configuration, materials were classified into four groups based on the shapes of their ...

2 Mechanical engineer, USAMBRL. 3 Major, Army Medical Specialist Corps, USAMBRL. ROOM-TEMPERATURE-VULCANIZING (RTV) silicone rubber is a versatile material and easy to handle. The ingredients from which it is formed are thick liquids that vulcanize at room temperature within a short period of time after the catalyst is added. Depending upon the relative amounts of solid and foam ingredients, th...