Here at 3D Rapid Print, one of the fastest growing 3D Printing companies in the Thames Valley, we like to keep abreast of the latest innovations in 3D printing.
On November 23rd 2021, news broke of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology creating a 3D printing ink using genetically modified E. coli cells, which could be 3D printed into structures that released either the anti-cancer drug azurin or captured the toxin bisphenol A (BPA) from the environment. The team’s research was published in the journal Nature Communications.
The team genetically engineered E. coli cells to produce molecules of a special sort of fibre that had one of two oppositely charged modules attached to them, which crosslinked when fibre molecules with oppositely charged modules locked into each other. Next, the cells were filtered through a nylon membrane before being removed from the mixture, concentrating the crosslinked fibres and giving a gel that had a suitable viscosity and elasticity for 3D printing.
By genetically modifying other E. coli cells to produce azurin in the presence of a chemical called IPTG and seeding them into the gel, it was found that the gel could be turned into a living structure that released azurin on demand. Another population of E. coli was subsequently engineered to produce a similar fibre molecule that could bind to BPA. When embedded into the gel, the cells enabled it to capture nearly 30% of the toxin from the liquid around it within 24 hours. Other examples of 3D printed living materials involve the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and Dutch designers Eric Klarenbeek and Maartje Dros.
In late April 2021, researchers led by TU Delft announced that they had created an environmentally friendly living material made by 3D printing microalgae onto bacterial cellulose. (Bacterial cellulose is an organic compound produced by certain types of bacteria.) The team proclaimed that the plant-like nature of their material enabled it to use photosynthesis to grow consistently for several weeks, and that a small sample of the material could be used to grow more of it on site, making it regeneratable. Their work was published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
In December 2017, architecture magazine Dezeen spoke of Klarenbeek and Dros’s work cultivating algae into a 3D printable bioplastic that they then believed could eventually completely replace synthetic plastics. (They had also created 3D printable biopolymers from other organic raw materials including mycelium, potato starch and cocoa bean shells.) Their research followed on from Klarenbeek’s work with mycelium, which began in 2011 and led to him developing a 3D printed chair made from water, powdered straw and mycelium, which was presented at Dutch Design Week in 2013.
3D printing is an amazing tool. It can grow your small business or start a mini revolution in an industry. Explore what it can do for you when you contact us today.
Disclaimer: Featured image of “E coli at 10000x, original” is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the Agricultural Research Service, the research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.
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