Research lab 3D printing of functional nanomaterials

There is an urgent need for personalized wound treatment when pharmacological agents such as antibacterial agents or cell growth factors are controllably released from the wound dressing over time, especially when their systemic delivery may cause adverse effects. Three-dimensional printing paves the way for the cost- and time-efficient one-step fabrication of wound dressings with site-specific integration of distinct material components, with multiple therapeutic and antimicrobial agents incorporated into a single wound dressing. The project is aimed at developing colloidal inks with specified properties that can release pharmacologically active drugs in a controlled manner, as well as forming wound dressings based on them by 3D printing.

 

3D printing of optical active structures

Technologies of counterfeit prevention are extremely needed for the present day. One of them – using optical active elements such as holographic tags, quantum dots. But most of these methods have implementation only for 2D printing. 3D printing of optical active structures seems as a perspective way to increasing the power of goods protection due to its possibility to be imprinted on complicated geometry in environmental conditions. The research is aimed at the development of novel nanocolloidal for 3D printing of optical active structures based on latex nanoparticles with fluorescent dyes and cellulose nanocrystal modified with carbon nanodots for purpose of security printing. These inks have sustainability of rheological, mechanical, and optical properties which seems a competitive advantage in front of classic methods.

Contamination of water with heavy metals is a growing concern: mercury, copper, nickel, and chromium cause damage of kidney, nervous system, and brain and lead to cognitive decline. Efficient, cost-effective, and reproducible methods of recycling polluted water allow it to be used for irrigation, gardening, and industrial needs. Nanocolloidal hydrogels combine the advantages of "molecular" hydrogels (large surface area and concentration of functional groups) and nanoparticle-based heavy metal extractants (selectivity). The use of carbon quantum dots in the ink makes it possible to achieve a quantitative analysis of ions and molecules, due to the quenching/strengthening of luminescence.

 

Using 3D printing inks that can respond to external stimuli opens the way for creating materials with dynamic, programmable properties. This direction is called 4D printing, meaning time as the fourth dimension. Such materials are of significant interest for soft robotics, biomedical devices, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.

 

Hydrogels are widely used in cell culture and tissue engineering due to their ability to retain water, easiness of functionalization, and the ability to mimic the biophysical and biochemical properties of tissues in vitro. Gradients in compositions and structural anisotropy are essential for the performance of biological functions, including cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation, as well as force generation and mass transport of nutrients. The research is aimed at developing methods of three-dimensional bioprinting using colloidal bioinks containing cells, growth factors and hydrogels for the manufacture of hydrogel frames that reproduce the natural parameters and characteristics of tissues.