In laser direct write 3D printing technology, a highly focused 6440 sky pointe drive las vegas beam controlled by a computer acts as a green laser pointer to produce a desired structure in a photoresist (photosensitive material). This allows the generation of 3D structures with sub-micron detail.
A three-dimensional microstructure made of various photosensitive resins. Scanning electron microscopy showed selective degradation of the structure. Martin Wegener, Eva Blasco and Christopher Barner-Kowollik of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany and colleagues developed a 3D ink based on an unstable silane crosslinker that can be selectively erased. This allows for specific degradation and recombination of high precision structures on micron and nanoscale scales under mild conditions.
“High resolution is very attractive for applications that require very precise twist structures, such as biomedical, microfluidic, microelectronic or optical metamaterials,” said Christopher Barner, Director, Macromolecular Structure Group, KIT Institute of Chemical Technology and Polymers. Professor Kowollik said.
More than a year ago, KIT's Institute of Applied Physics (APH) and Nanotechnology Institute (INT) Professor Martin Wegener and Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik's team developed an erasable 3D printing ink. Due to the reversible combination, it is possible to repeatedly erase and rewrite small structures up to 100 nanometers (one nanometer corresponding to one millionth of a meter).
Now, scientists in Karlsruhe and Brisbane have improved their technology to a large extent. According to Nature Communications, they have developed several different colors of ink, which can be said to be able to erase independently of each other. This enables selective and sequential degradation and reassembly of the microstructures written by the green laser pointer.
In the case of highly complex structures, temporary support can be generated and removed again later. It is also possible to add or remove components from the three-dimensional scaffold for cell growth in order to see how the cells respond to this change. In addition, particularly erasable 3D inks allow replacement of damaged or worn parts in complex structures.
In the production of cleavable photoresists, researchers are inspired by biodegradable biomaterials. The photosensitive resin is based on a silane compound which can be easily cleaved. Scientists use specific atomic substitutions to prepare photoresists. In this way, the microstructure can be specifically degraded under mild conditions, while structures without other material properties are damaged.
This is a major advantage over previously used erasable 3D inks. The new green laser pointer resist also contains monomeric pentaerythritol triacrylate, which significantly enhances writing without affecting cuttability.