科学家University of Houston已经开发了一种新型的3D打印生物传感器的方法，该方法可能有一天被植入人类宿主。
使用多光子光刻（MPL），该团队的方法涉及聚合将带有有机半导体材料逐层的树脂组成，以形成微小的生物相容性电路板。到目前为止，研究人员已经利用其过程来创建高度精确的葡萄糖传感器，但是随着进一步的研发，他们认为这可以为新一代生物电子设备的生产铺平道路。
“Here, a homogenous and transparent photosensitive resin doped with an organic semiconductor (OS) material is introduced to fabricate a variety of 3D OS composite microstructures (OSCM),” say the team in their paper. “[Our] results demonstrate the great potential of these devices for a wide range of applications from flexible bioelectronics, to nanoelectronics and organ-on-a-chip devices.”
Bringing conductive implants to life
In their paper, the researchers identify MPL as the “state-of-the-art” in Direct Laser Writing (DLW) 3D printing, due to its material versatility and the high level of accuracy it’s able to achieve (down to a resolution of 15 nm). As such, the Houston team sees the technology as ideal for producing the types of nano-electronic devices that have become the subject of intensive research over the last few years.
However, the viability of 3D printing such bio-implants continues to be limited by the low conductivity of the materials used to produce them. According to the scientists, this is due to the fact that prototype bio-electronics are often made from carbon nanotubes or graphene, so they have inorganic properties that are “difficult to disperse homogeneously” in resins “without significant phase separation.”
为了解决这些缺点，休斯顿的研究人员已经开发了自己的MPL树脂，该树脂由装有DMSO的PEGA聚合物组成，PEDOT：PSS有机半导体，层层粘连蛋白和葡萄糖氧化酶，可以精确3D印刷到Mini Bio-Bio-Bio-Bio Bio-Bio Bio-Bio Bio-Bio Bio-Bio Bio-Bio氧化酶具有均匀性能的电路板。
3D printing cytocompatible PCBs
Initially, the researchers used their material to produce multiple microelectronic devices, including a printed circuit board (PCB), featuring an array of micro capacitors. Once they’d demonstrated the efficacy of their technique, the team began experimenting with laminin, a glycoprotein found in the membranes of different animal tissues, that facilitates cell attachment, signaling and migration.
在用蛋白质加载树脂后，团队继续将其打印成进一步的复杂微结构，然后将这些内部小鼠组织培养48小时。与非剂量样品相比，科学家指出，他们的细胞显示出“生存增强”的证据，同时还保留了促进依恋和增殖的能力。
在建立植入物的生物相容性之后，研究人员试图评估设备的电化学性质。以1 kHz为单位的生物学频率进行测试表明，随着微电极的直径增加，团队PCB的电阻抗在所有频率（1至105 Hz）中均降低，结果“与以前报告的结果一致。”
最后，为了展示其方法的潜在应用，科学家使用它来产生一种新型的生物传感器，该传感器能够部署电流以检测具有高稳定性和精度的葡萄糖水平。鉴于该设备的灵敏度是目前的监视器的十倍，因此该团队说他们的树脂现在可以帮助加速人类在控制论植入物方面的进步。
“我们预计所呈现的MPL兼容OS复合树脂将为生产柔性生物电子/生物传感器，纳米电子，纳米电子，有机体和免疫细胞治疗的新兴领域的各种应用铺平道路。，”研究人员在论文中总结道。
用控制论推动信封
尽管科幻植入物的想法可能听起来很科幻，但休斯顿团队的项目并不是第一个使用3D打印的项目，以越来越接近意识到它们。在过去，雷尼沙与Herantis Pharma, which saw it3D打印神经毒剂的药物输送装置, designed to treat Parkinson’s disease.
同样，科学家谢菲尔德大学,St Petersburg State University和Technische Universität Dresdenhave previously developed a 3D printedneural implant for treating nervous system injuries. Theoretically at least, the device combines biology and electronics in a way that allows the brain to be linked to a computer, thus empowering doctors to address neurological conditions.
同样，在另一种实验用例中，约书亚·乌扎尔斯基（Joshua Uzarski）CCDC士兵中心去年告诉3D印刷业US Army目前正在研究Cyberpunk-style bio-sensors. The devices, which remain at a very early stage of development, could be used to physiologically track troops, while also providing them with an enhanced awareness of potential situational threats in the field.
The researchers’ findings are detailed in their paper titled “有机半导体设备的多光子光刻，用于3D打印柔性电子电路，生物传感器和生物电子学.这项研究是由Omid Dadras-Toussi，Milad Khorrami，Anto Sam Crosslee Louis Sam Titus，Sheereen Majd，Chandra Mohan和Mohammad Reza Abidian合着的。
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特色图显示了研究人员的第一批原型3D印刷微观结构。图片通过休斯敦大学。
