Three-dimensional (3D) printers are used in various industrial fields. Using 3D printing technology, even buildings or artificial organs could be constructed. However, many biopolymers, such as nucleic acids, proteins, and enzymes, have their own inherent structures and properties at nanoscales, making it difficult to artificially construct them with high resolution in a desired size and shape.
  The research team from the Department of Material Science and Engineering of Professor Seung Soo Oh, Prof. Emeritus Jung Ho Je, Dr. Moon-Jung Yong, and Ph.D. candidates Un Yang and Byunghwa Kang has developed a technology for type-independent 3D writing and nano-patterning of confined biopolymers. It can be widely applied to various biopolymers and freely control them with functional integrity and maintain their folding structures. The study was published in the journal, Advanced Science.
  This technique can produce desired 3D biopolymeric architectures with high resolution. The generated nano-patterns can perform biological functions in various solvents. Furthermore, it is possible to produce a 100% purity biopolymer pattern without using any additives. This technology is developed under the principle that at molecular levels, evaporation and solidification of pure biopolymer-containing solutions occurs regardless of biopolymer types.
  This technology is expected to be widely used in artificial tissue engineering and biochip manufacturing. Now, the researchers plan to develop the next-generation cell imitation device printing technology that can be used in actual medical fields and drug developments.
  Prof. Oh emphasized, “This study is the first result in the world to prove the possibility of ultra-fine 3D printing of 100% functional and structurally active biopolymers.” Prof. Je added, “It has great potential to print materials with diverse optical and electrical properties by applying complex materials, such as quantum dots and carbon nanotubes.”
  Meanwhile, this study was supported by Korea Basic Science Institute (National Research Facilities and Equipment Center) grant funded by the Ministry of Education. This work was also supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) and Brain Korea 21 FOUR project for Education and research center for future materials.