3D printing of functional polymers for miniature machines

Author(s):  
Neng Xia ◽  
Dongdong Jin ◽  
Veronica Iacovacci ◽  
Li Zhang

Abstract Miniature robots and actuators with micrometer or millimeter scale size can be driven by diverse power sources, e.g., chemical fuels, light, magnetic, and acoustic fields. These machines have the potential to access complex narrow spaces, execute medical tasks, perform environmental monitoring, and manipulate micro-objects. Recent advancements in 3D printing techniques have demonstrated great benefits in manufacturing small-scale structures such as customized design with programmable physical properties. Combining 3D printing methods, functional polymers, and active control strategies enables these miniature machines with diverse functionalities to broaden their potentials in medical applications. Herein, this review provides an overview of 3D printing techniques applicable for the fabrication of small-scale machines and printable functional materials, including shape-morphing materials, biomaterials, composite polymers, and self-healing polymers. Functions and applications of tiny robots and actuators fabricated by 3D printing and future perspectives toward small-scale intelligent machines are discussed.

Author(s):  
Cheng Zhu ◽  
Andrew J. Pascall ◽  
Nikola Dudukovic ◽  
Marcus A. Worsley ◽  
Joshua D. Kuntz ◽  
...  

In recent years, 3D printing has led to a disruptive manufacturing revolution that allows complex architected materials and structures to be created by directly joining sequential layers into designed 3D components. However, customized feedstocks for specific 3D printing techniques and applications are limited or nonexistent, which greatly impedes the production of desired structural or functional materials. Colloids, with their stable biphasic nature, have tremendous potential to satisfy the requirements of various 3D printing methods owing to their tunable electrical, optical, mechanical, and rheological properties. This enables materials delivery and assembly across the multiple length scales required for multifunctionality. Here, a state-of-the-art review on advanced colloidal processing strategies for 3D printing of organic, ceramic, metallic, and carbonaceous materials is provided. It is believed that the concomitant innovations in colloid design and 3D printing will provide numerous possibilities for the fabrication of new constructs unobtainable using traditional methods, which will significantly broaden their applications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Julius Krause ◽  
Laura Müller ◽  
Dorota Sarwinska ◽  
Anne Seidlitz ◽  
Malgorzata Sznitowska ◽  
...  

In the treatment of pediatric diseases, suitable dosages and dosage forms are often not available for an adequate therapy. The use of innovative additive manufacturing techniques offers the possibility of producing pediatric dosage forms. In this study, the production of mini tablets using fused deposition modeling (FDM)-based 3D printing was investigated. Two pediatric drugs, caffeine and propranolol hydrochloride, were successfully processed into filaments using hyprolose and hypromellose as polymers. Subsequently, mini tablets with diameters between 1.5 and 4.0 mm were printed and characterized using optical and thermal analysis methods. By varying the number of mini tablets applied and by varying the diameter, we were able to achieve different release behaviors. This work highlights the potential value of FDM 3D printing for the on-demand production of patient individualized, small-scale batches of pediatric dosage forms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Al Mahadi Hasan ◽  
Yuanhao Wang ◽  
Chris R. Bowen ◽  
Ya Yang

AbstractThe development of a nation is deeply related to its energy consumption. 2D nanomaterials have become a spotlight for energy harvesting applications from the small-scale of low-power electronics to a large-scale for industry-level applications, such as self-powered sensor devices, environmental monitoring, and large-scale power generation. Scientists from around the world are working to utilize their engrossing properties to overcome the challenges in material selection and fabrication technologies for compact energy scavenging devices to replace batteries and traditional power sources. In this review, the variety of techniques for scavenging energies from sustainable sources such as solar, air, waste heat, and surrounding mechanical forces are discussed that exploit the fascinating properties of 2D nanomaterials. In addition, practical applications of these fabricated power generating devices and their performance as an alternative to conventional power supplies are discussed with the future pertinence to solve the energy problems in various fields and applications.


Chemistry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-181
Author(s):  
Joyita Sarkar ◽  
Swapnil C. Kamble ◽  
Nilambari C. Kashikar

Three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques have revolutionized the field of tissue engineering. This is especially favorable to construct intricate tissues such as liver, as 3D printing allows for the precise delivery of biomaterials, cells and bioactive molecules in complex geometries. Bioinks made of polymers, of both natural and synthetic origin, have been very beneficial to printing soft tissues such as liver. Using polymeric bioinks, 3D hepatic structures are printed with or without cells and biomolecules, and have been used for different tissue engineering applications. In this review, with the introduction to basic 3D printing techniques, we discuss different natural and synthetic polymers including decellularized matrices that have been employed for the 3D bioprinting of hepatic structures. Finally, we focus on recent advances in polymeric bioinks for 3D hepatic printing and their applications. The studies indicate that much work has been devoted to improvising the design, stability and longevity of the printed structures. Others focus on the printing of tissue engineered hepatic structures for applications in drug screening, regenerative medicine and disease models. More attention must now be diverted to developing personalized structures and stem cell differentiation to hepatic lineage.


2021 ◽  
pp. 128469
Author(s):  
Themistoklis Sfetsas ◽  
Stefanos Patsatzis ◽  
Afroditi Chioti

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3149
Author(s):  
Angelika Zaszczyńska ◽  
Maryla Moczulska-Heljak ◽  
Arkadiusz Gradys ◽  
Paweł Sajkiewicz

Tissue engineering (TE) scaffolds have enormous significance for the possibility of regeneration of complex tissue structures or even whole organs. Three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques allow fabricating TE scaffolds, having an extremely complex structure, in a repeatable and precise manner. Moreover, they enable the easy application of computer-assisted methods to TE scaffold design. The latest additive manufacturing techniques open up opportunities not otherwise available. This study aimed to summarize the state-of-art field of 3D printing techniques in applications for tissue engineering with a focus on the latest advancements. The following topics are discussed: systematics of the available 3D printing techniques applied for TE scaffold fabrication; overview of 3D printable biomaterials and advancements in 3D-printing-assisted tissue engineering.


2021 ◽  
pp. 2107202
Author(s):  
Yuchao Wu ◽  
Yong Zeng ◽  
Yizhen Chen ◽  
Chao Li ◽  
Renhui Qiu ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prantik Mondal ◽  
Gourhari Jana ◽  
Tuhin Subhra Pal ◽  
Pratim K. Chattaraj ◽  
Nikhil K Singha

Nowadays, the design of functional polymer materials that can mimic natural phenomena, e.g., self-healing of skin cuts, has got a tremendous interest in materials science and engineering. Recently, 1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (TAD)...


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (23) ◽  
pp. 8594
Author(s):  
Paweł Komorowski ◽  
Mateusz Surma ◽  
Michał Walczakowski ◽  
Przemysław Zagrajek ◽  
Agnieszka Siemion

Medical and many other applications require small-volume setups enabling terahertz imaging. Therefore, we aim to develop a device for the in-reflection examination of the samples. Thus, in this article, we focus on the diffractive elements for efficient redirection and focusing of the THz radiation. A terahertz diffractive optical structure has been designed, optimized, manufactured (using extrusion-based 3D printing) and tested. Two manufacturing methods have been used—direct printing of the structures from PA12, and casting of the paraffin structures out of 3D-printed molds. Also, the limitations of the off-axis focusing have been discussed. To increase the efficiency, an iterative algorithm has been proposed that optimizes off-axis structures to focus the radiation into small focal spots located far from the optical axis, at an angle of more than 30 degrees. Moreover, the application of higher-order kinoform structure design allowed the maintaining of the smallest details of the manufactured optical element, using 3D printing techniques.


Author(s):  
Robert Peter Dillon ◽  
Bryan McEnerney ◽  
John Paul Borgonia

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