https://doi.org/10.1177/0883911518765216 Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers 2018, Vol. 33(4) 349–360 © The Author(s) 2018 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0883911518765216 journals.sagepub.com/home/jbc JOURNAL OF Bioactive and Compatible Polymers Development of a process for the manufacturing of SU-8 100 for the use in cell culture Grit Blume 1 , Gabriela Mielke 2 , Jessica Kohnert 1 , Ralf Pörtner 2 and Khiem H Trieu 1 Abstract SU-8 100 is a negative-tone photoresist which is used for the manufacturing of structures with high thickness and aspect ratio. The use of SU-8 100 systems in cell culture is difficult due to its cytotoxicity resulting from leachables. In this article, the production process of non-cytotoxic SU-8 100 foils is described. The aim is to create a polymer scaffold with integrated sensors in order to enable online measurements of cell growth and viability within a three-dimensional cell culture. This scaffold could be a useful tool for testing biological effects of pharmaceutical substances. Therefore, the scaffold material must not have a negative influence on the cell growth and viability. Among the biocompatibility tests described in DIN EN ISO 10993-5, the neutral red uptake method was chosen to evaluate the cytotoxicity of polymer foils. The production process of SU-8 100 was altered in such a way that non-cytotoxic SU-8 100 foils can be manufactured. Keywords Cytotoxicity, leachables, neutral red uptake, SU-8 100, infrared spectroscopy Introduction Polymer microsystem technology is evolving during the last years. The material properties of polymers differ from the properties of semiconductors, the traditional materials in microsystems, and different physical phenomena can be used. This offers new possibilities in microsystem technology. The use of polymers manufactured with microsystem technologies in cell culture 1 Institute of Microsystem Technology, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany 2 Institute of Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany Corresponding author: Grit Blume, Institute of Microsystem Technology, Hamburg University of Technology, Eissendorfer Str. 42, D-21073 Hamburg, Germany. Email: g.blume@tuhh.de 765216JOB 0 0 10.1177/0883911518765216Journal of Bioactive and Compatible PolymersBlume et al. research-article 2018 Original Article