4D Printing of Liquid Crystal Emulsions for Smart Structures with Multiple Functionalities.

3D printing, and more recently 4D printing, has emerged as a transformative technology for fabricating structures with complex geometries and responsive properties. However, employing functional colloidal solutions as inks for printing remains unexplored. In this work, we present a novel and versatile 4D printing approach for fabricating functional and complex-shaped objects using polymerizable liquid crystal (LC) emulsion droplets.

Alignment and actuation of liquid crystals via 3D confinement and two-photon laser printing.

Liquid crystalline (LC) materials are especially suited for the preparation of active three-dimensional (3D) and 4D microstructures using two-photon laser printing. To achieve the desired actuation, the alignment of the LCs has to be controlled during the printing process. In most cases studied before, the alignment relied on surface modifications and complex alignment patterns and concomitant actuation were not possible.

Digital Light 3D Printing of Double Thermoplastics with Customizable Mechanical Properties and Versatile Reprocessability.

Digital light processing (DLP) is a 3D printing technology offering high resolution and speed. Printable materials are commonly based on multifunctional monomers, resulting in the formation of thermosets that usually cannot be reprocessed or recycled. Some efforts are made in DLP 3D printing of thermoplastic materials.

Printing Green: Microalgae-Based Materials for 3D Printing with Light.

Microalgae have emerged as sustainable feedstocks due to their ability to fix CO during cultivation, rapid growth rates, and capability to produce a wide variety of metabolites. Several microalgae accumulate lipids in high concentrations, especially triglycerides, along with lipid-soluble, photoactive pigments such as chlorophylls and derivatives. Microalgae-derived triglycerides contain longer fatty acid chains with more double bonds on average than vegetable oils, allowing a higher degree of post-functionalization.

Minimal-Invasive 3D Laser Printing of Microimplants in Organismo.

Multi-photon 3D laser printing has gathered much attention in recent years as a means of manufacturing biocompatible scaffolds that can modify and guide cellular behavior in vitro. However, in vivo tissue engineering efforts have been limited so far to the implantation of beforehand 3D printed biocompatible scaffolds and in vivo bioprinting of tissue constructs from bioinks containing cells, biomolecules, and printable hydrogel formulations. Thus, a comprehensive 3D laser printing platform for in vivo and in situ manufacturing of microimplants raised from synthetic polymer-based inks is currently missing.