Researchers have discovered a naturally occurring compound that can be incorporated into 3D printing technologies to create medical implants using non-toxic polymers. This compound is riboflavin, or vitamin B2. This opens the door to a much wider range of biocompatible implant materials, which can be used to develop customized implant designs using 3-D printing technology, says Dr. Roger Narayan, senior author of a paper describing the work. The research team from North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina and Laser Zentrum Hannover have focused on a specific 3-D printing technique called two-photon polymerization. This technique was chosen because it can be used to create small objects with great detail. This technique would be useful for scaffolds for tissue engineering, microneedles and other implantable drug delivery devices. For two-photon polymerizaton to work, it needs to employ liquid precursor that reacts to light. When the liquid reacts to light, it turns it to a solid polymer. The technique is controlled by targeted amounts of light, depending on the desired product. Most chemicals mixed into precursers to make them photoreactive are toxic, which is a drawback when making medical implants. Now that riboflavin can be mixed with a precurser material to make it photoreactive, we can create a safe, non-toxic and biocompatible material. sciencedaily/releases/2013/10/131023101326.htm #3dprinting #syntheticbiology #biotechnology
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 21:26:00 +0000
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