A new method of 3D-printing gels could be used to create new, implantable medical devices, reports Printed Electronics World.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new method of 3D-printing gels and other soft materials. Published in a new paper, it has the potential to create complex structures with nanometer-scale precision. Because many gels are compatible with living cells, the new method could jump-start the production of soft tiny medical devices such as drug delivery systems or flexible electrodes that can be inserted into the human body.
Read more at Printed Electronics World.
Featured image: Illustration of a prospective biocompatible interface shows that hydrogels (green tubing), which can be generated by an electron or X-ray beam 3D-printing process, act as artificial synapses or junctions, connecting neurons (brown) to electrodes (yellow). (credit: A. Strelcov/NIST)
