the present invention provides a basic system and several alternate methods for using common thermoplastic polymers to prepare thin - film microparticles that exhibit well - defined lateral geometries and other desired characteristics . the exemplary embodiment of this system includes a polydimethyl siloxane stamp having micro - contours or micro - structures , a substrate , and a sacrificial layer of material coating the substrate . as described below , stamps with both isolated protruding structures and recessed structures can be used to create polymer microparticles using the system and methods of this invention . the exemplary methods of the present invention primarily utilize the polymer polypropyl methacrylate (“ ppma ”), although other common polymers such as , for example , polylactic - co - glycolic acid , polycaprolactone , polymethyl methacrylate , and polystyrene have been successfully demonstrated with this system . furthermore , the general methods disclosed herein are easily extendable to most polymers , and thermoplastic polymers , in particular . the exemplary system also utilizes polydimethyl siloxane ( pdms ) stamps having two different types of surface structures : ( i ) micro - pillars , which comprise square - like members with rounded corners protruding from the face of the stamp , and ( ii ) micro - wells which comprise square - like recessed areas formed between the micro - pillars on the face of the stamp . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art of soft - lithography , pdms stamps are typically created from molds . the dimensions of pdms stamps are typically about 1 . 0 cm × 1 . 0 cm , although much larger stamps can be created for large - scale manufacturing . in exemplary embodiment , the sacrificial layer component typically consists of polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) due to its solubility in water and its high melting temperature . however , other materials that exhibit solubility in water and relatively low solubility in other solvents may be suitable for the disclosed system . in other embodiments , water - soluble inks , glucose , chitosan , and polyethylene glycol ( peg ) are utilized . in the exemplary methods , the substrate that the sacrificial layer is deposited on is typically a glass slide ; however , other substantially flat , smooth , non - porous materials may be used . with reference now to fig1 a - d , a first embodiment of microfabrication system 100 includes a stamp 102 , a substrate 112 , and a water - soluble sacrificial layer 110 . utilizing system 100 , microparticles 114 are fabricated according to the following exemplary method : ( i ) dip stamp 102 into a 5 . 8 wt % ppma / acetone solution to form a thin , continuous layer 108 of ppma on the face of the stamp ( see fig1 a ) which covers its contours , i . e ., micro - pillars 104 and micro - wells 106 ; ( ii ) using a cotton swab or other suitable applicator , brush a 1 . 5 wt % aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) onto the surface of a glass slide ( substrate 112 ) to form a thin film which will serve as sacrificial layer 110 ( see fig1 b ); ( iii ) place stamp 102 on substrate 112 with the polymer - coated face touching the surface of the slide and sacrificial layer 110 and place a solid weight on top of the stamp , creating a pressure of about 320 pa , to ensure a complete conformal contact between stamp 102 and substrate 112 ; ( iv ) place the weight , stamp , and slide on a hot plate at about 110 ° c . for about ten seconds ; ( v ) peel stamp 102 away from substrate 112 leaving the polymer microparticles attached to sacrificial layer 110 ( see fig1 c ); ( vi ) place substrate 112 into water - filled reservoir 116 to dissolve sacrificial layer 110 and release microparticles 114 into solution ( see fig1 d ); and ( optionally ) ( vii ) retrieving microparticles from solution by means of desiccation , filtration , or any other suitable method . with reference to fig5 a , the width and height of micro - pillars 104 is about 30 μm by about 3 . 7 μm , respectively , and the resultant particles have a width of about 30 μm and thickness of about 650 nm . fig5 a is an optical micrograph of microparticles 114 on substrate 112 showing replication of the structures of the micro - pillars , namely the generally square shape with rounded corners . fig5 b is an optical micrograph of microparticles 114 released into a solution of water after sacrificial layer 112 has been dissolved . with reference to fig2 a - f a second embodiment of this invention , microfabrication system 200 , uses a stamp 202 , a substrate 212 , and a water - soluble sacrificial layer 210 to create polymer microparticles 214 . utilizing system 200 , microparticles 214 are fabricated according to the following exemplary method : ( i ) stamp 202 is dipped into a 2 . 5 wt % ppma / acetone solution to form a thin , continuous layer 208 of ppma on the face of the stamp ( see fig2 a ) and covering its contours , i . e ., micro - pillars 204 and micro - wells 206 ; ( ii ) place the polymer - coated stamp on a glass slide 212 ( see fig2 b ) and apply pressure of about 550 pa to the stamp using a solid weight to induce a full conformal contact between the polymer on the raised regions of the stamp and the glass slide across the entire face of the stamp ( note : care should be taken to not apply excessive pressure resulting in deformation of the stamp that would allow the polymer in micro - wells 206 to be transferred to the slide ); ( iii ) place the weight , stamp , and slide on a hot plate at about 110 ° c . for about ten seconds , and then remove the polymer - coated stamp from the glass slide ( see fig2 c ) leaving the excess polymer 211 that coated micro - pillars 204 on the surface of the slide ( note : the polymer deposited on the slide in this step is no longer needed and this slide may be discarded or recycled after this step ); ( iv ) using a cotton swab or other suitable applicator , brush a 1 . 5 wt % aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) onto the surface of a second glass slide ( new substrate 212 ) to form a thin film which will serve as sacrificial layer 210 ; ( v ) place stamp 202 on substrate 212 with the polymer - coated face touching the surface of the slide and sacrificial layer 210 , and for about five seconds place a solid weight or other suitable compression means on top of the stamp ( creating a pressure of greater than about 2 . 5 kpa ) to push the polymer in micro - wells 206 onto substrate 212 ( see fig2 d ); ( vi ) place the weight , stamp , and slide on a hot plate at about 110 ° c . for about ten seconds , and then remove the polymer - coated stamp from the glass slide ( see fig2 c ) leaving the polymer that coated micro - wells 206 on the surface of the slide attached to sacrificial layer 210 ( see fig2 e ); ( vii ) place substrate 212 into water - filled reservoir 216 to dissolve sacrificial layer 210 and release microparticles 214 into solution ( see fig2 f ); and ( optionally ) ( viii ) retrieving microparticles from solution by means of desiccation , filtration , or any other suitable method . with reference to fig6 a - b , the stamp used in this embodiment includes 40 um - wide square micro - wells separated by 10 um - wide ridges which are about 1 . 4 μm height . the microparticles created by this exemplary method have an average thickness of about 130 nm ; however , the rims or outer edges of these microparticles may be as thick as about 300 nm to 600 nm . fig6 a is an optical micrograph of microparticles 214 as they appear on the surface of substrate 212 . the square - like shape of the microparticles is clearly evident in fig6 a . fig6 b is an optical micrograph of microparticles 214 released into a solution of water after sacrificial layer 212 has been dissolved . with reference to fig3 a - e , a third embodiment of this invention , microfabrication system 300 , uses a stamp 302 , a substrate 312 , and a water - soluble sacrificial layer 310 to create polymer microparticles 314 . utilizing system 300 , microparticles 314 are fabricated according to the following exemplary method : ( i ) apply 10 wt % poly ( lactic - glycolic ) acid ( plga )/ dimethyl sulfoxide ( dmso ) solution to stamp 302 to fill only the micro - well features ( see fig3 a ); ( ii ) evaporate the solvent ( dmso ) under vacuum overnight , leaving plga solid polymer 308 in the micro - well features on the face of the stamp ( see fig3 b ); ( iii ) using a cotton swab or other suitable applicator , brush a 1 . 5 wt % aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) onto the surface of a glass slide ( new substrate 312 ) to form a thin film which will serve as sacrificial layer 310 ; ( iv ) place stamp 302 on substrate 312 with the polymer - coated face touching the surface of the slide and sacrificial layer 310 , and for about five seconds place a solid weight or other suitable compression means on top of the stamp ( creating a pressure of greater than about 2 . 5 kpa ) to push the polymer in micro - wells 306 onto substrate 312 ( see fig3 c ); ( v ) place the weight , stamp , and slide on a hot plate at about 110 ° c . for about ten seconds , and then remove the polymer - coated stamp from the glass slide leaving the polymer that coated the micro - wells 306 on the surface of the slide attached to sacrificial layer 310 ( see fig3 d ); ( vi ) place substrate 312 into water - filled reservoir 316 to dissolve sacrificial layer 310 and release microparticles 314 into solution ( see fig3 e ); and ( optionally ) ( vii ) desiccate , filter , or use other conventionally accepted methods to retrieve microparticles from solution . with reference to fig7 the stamp used in this embodiment includes 40 um - wide square micro - wells separated by 10 um - wide ridges which are about 1 . 4 μm height . fig7 is an optical micrograph of microparticles 314 released into a solution of water immediately after sacrificial layer 312 has been dissolved , still floating loosely above their original positions on the substrate . this technique can be used for solution casting as described above with the appropriate solvent / stamp combination , or also for casting and curing a pre - polymer solution such as methacrylic acid ( maa ) for the formation of cross - linked microparticles ( pmaa , a hydrogel ). with reference to fig4 a - h , a fourth embodiment of this invention , microfabrication system 400 , uses a stamp 402 , a substrate 412 , and a water - soluble sacrificial layer 410 to create polymer microparticles 414 . utilizing system 400 , microparticles 414 are fabricated according to the following exemplary method : ( i ) stamp 402 is dipped into a 2 . 5 wt % ppma / acetone solution to form a thin , continuous layer 408 of ppma on the face of the stamp ( see fig4 a ) and covering its contours , i . e ., micro - pillars 404 and micro - wells 406 ; ( ii ) place the polymer - coated stamp on a glass slide 412 ( see fig4 b ) and apply pressure of about 550 pa to the stamp using a solid weight or other suitable compression means to induce a full conformal contact between the polymer on the raised regions of the stamp and the glass slide across the entire face of the stamp ( note : care should be taken to not apply excessive pressure resulting in deformation of the stamp that would allow the polymer in micro - wells 406 to be transferred to the slide ); ( iii ) place the weight , stamp , and slide on a hot plate at about 110 ° c . for about ten seconds , and then remove the polymer - coated stamp from the glass slide leaving the excess polymer 411 that coated micro - pillars 404 on the surface of the slide ( note : the polymer deposited on the slide in this step is no longer needed and this slide may be discarded or recycled after this step ); ( iv ) brush fully sulfonated polyaniline ( fspan )/ dmso solution onto stamp 402 to form spots of solution within the microwell features 406 on top of the previously deposited ppma ; ( v ) evaporate dmso solvent in vacuum overnight , leaving solid polymer fspan on top of ppma within the microwells 406 ( see fig4 c ); ( vi ) dip stamp 402 into a 2 . 5 wt % ppma / acetone solution to form a thin , continuous layer 408 of ppma on the face of the stamp ( see fig4 d ) that is bonded to the first layer of ppma ( see fig4 d ); ( vii ) repeat steps ( ii ) and ( iii ) to remove excess polymer 411 that coats the micro - pillars 404 onto the surface of the slide ( see fig4 e ); ( viii ) using a cotton swab , brush a 1 . 5 wt % aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) onto the surface of a new glass slide ( new substrate 412 ) to form a thin film which will serve as sacrificial layer 410 ; ( ix ) place stamp 402 on substrate 412 with the polymer - coated face touching the surface of the slide and sacrificial layer 410 , and for about five seconds place a solid weight or other suitable compression means on top of the stamp ( creating a pressure of greater than about 2 . 5 kpa ) to push the polymer in micro - wells 406 onto substrate 412 ( see fig4 f ); ( x ) place the weight , stamp , and slide on a hot plate at about 110 ° c . for about ten seconds , and then remove the polymer - coated stamp from the glass slide leaving the p olymer that coated micro - wells 406 on the surface of the slide attached to sacrificial layer 410 ( see fig4 g ); ( xi ) place substrate 412 into water - filled reservoir 416 to dissolve sacrificial layer 410 and release microparticles 414 into solution ( see fig4 h ); and ( optionally ) ( xii ) desiccate , filter , or use other conventionally accepted methods to retrieve microparticles from solution . with reference to fig8 the stamp used in this embodiment includes 40 um - wide square micro - wells separated by 10 um - wide ridges which are about 1 . 4 μm height . the microparticles created by this exemplary method demonstrate the multi - layer properties through the swelling of the confined fspan layer which is completely encapsulated between the two ppma layers . fig8 is an optical micrograph of microparticles 414 released into a solution of water after sacrificial layer 412 has been dissolved and the interior fspan layer has swollen . this technique can be used to produce microparticles of any multitude of layers for added functionality , so long as the cumulative thickness of the microparticles is less than the micro - well depth on the pdms stamp . all embodiments of the system and method of the present invention enable microfabrication of geometrically uniform microparticles over relatively large surface areas on the substrate . optical profilometry can be employed to confirm that these microparticles have the same lateral sizes as the stamp structures for both the micro - pillar method and micro - well methods . optical profilometry can also be used to confirm that microparticles made with the micro - pillar method are typically thicker in the center portion of the particle , while the microparticles made with micro - well method typically include a thin central portion but have a thicker rim portion . while the exemplary methods disclosed herein include the use of stamps with square - like structures , stamps or other templates having any number of different geometries can be used to create polymer microparticles . thus , polymer microparticles having any variety of lateral shapes can be produced with these methods provided that a continuous film of polymer is formed on the face of the stamp such that it covers the micro - structures or micro - contours of the stamp . in some embodiments that utilize different stamps or templates , the concentration of the polymer solution for dip coating may have to be adjusted to achieve optimal film formation . in general , the thickness of the film and of the resultant microparticles , is proportional to the concentration of the solution . thus , for different polymers or combinations of polymers , optimal concentrations should be determined empirically . likewise , polymers other than those described in the exemplary methods will have different thermal and cross - linking properties ; therefore , system parameters such as temperatures and exposure times may need to be adjusted accordingly . the systems and methods disclosed basically fall into to broad categories , namely the “ micro - pillar ” technique and the “ micro - well ” technique . although closely related , each technique has its own particular applications and advantages . for example , the micro - pillar printing technique , is essentially a one - step process which is simplistic and relative easy to perform . this one - step process may be repeated using the same stamp and the same substrate to create polymer structures having multiple layers . each new layer added to the first layer of polymer may include the same or different polymer ( s ) and the same or different shapes , patterns , geometries , or other desired characteristics . the micro - well printing technique is essentially a two - step process that includes an additional printing step to remove unneeded polymer film on the ridges of the stamp before printing out the microparticles on the substrate . the micro - well printing technique can also be used to fabricate multi - layered microparticles by filling the micro - wells multiple times and transferring the polymer to the substrate to create composite microparticles . the discontinuous wetting and the multi - layered method described above are embodiments of the present invention that incorporate the micro - well technique . advantageously , the micro - well method may also be performed partially in the absence of elevated temperature , which is only needed to remove polymer between the micro - wells in the first printing . the second printing , which transfers polymer in the micro - wells onto the sacrificial layer , can be carried out at room temperature simply by making the sacrificial layer tacky , which is easily achieved through a brief exposure of a dry pva layer to hot water vapor . it should also be noted , that while the sacrificial layer of material is included as a component in the described system and methods , all of the methods described herein can be performed without this sacrificial layer to create microparticles that remain attached to the substrate material following the various printings . while the above description contains many specificities , these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention , but rather as exemplification of certain preferred embodiments . numerous other variations of the present invention are possible , and is not intended herein to mention all of the possible equivalent forms or ramifications of this invention . various changes may be made to the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention .
a system and method for creating polymer microparticles for use in drug delivery and other applications . the components of the exemplary system include a micro - stamp having micro - contours or micro - structures , a substrate , and a sacrificial layer of material coating the slide . the method includes the steps of coating the face of stamp with a thin layer of polymer to cover the micro - structures of the stamp , contacting the coated face of the stamp with the coated substrate to transfer polymer from the micro - structures of the stamp to the slide to create free - standing polymer microparticles , and dissolving the sacrificial layer covering the substrate to release the microparticles into solution . the microparticles fabricated by this method typically exhibit well - defined geometries that correspond to the micro - structures of the stamp .