DHyNAMic

Project objectives

Three-dimensional micro-printing (3DMP) is a strategic manufacturing goal for industry and research, and is a rapidly expanding technology in robotics, energy harvesting, basic and applied life sciences, etc. However, the potential of 3DMP is not yet fully exploited, since the relative motion between microstructured parts via magnetic fields remains an unsolved challenge. The project will provide a strategy to increase the degrees of freedom of 3DMP. This will be based on the global and local activation of superparamagnetic nanoparticles, mediated by the hybridization of complementary DNA bases, which constitutes a strong and reversible interaction. First, different 3DMP techniques (e.g. microextrusion, digital light processing (DLP), and two-photon lithography) will be used to create 3D microstructures with soft materials that can be locally functionalized with single-stranded DNA. Then, the super-paramagnetic nanoparticles with the complementary filament will be functionalized and hybridized to the printed structures. Verification of the coupling will be performed by fluorescence microscopy. At this point, the application of an external magnetic field will result in a controlled bending and/or displacement of the structures. The feasibility of the technique will be demonstrated by creating proof-of-concept devices for remotely actuated microsystems and cell dynamics analysis, which will demonstrate the robustness and interdisciplinarity of the proposed technique. Building on the existing scientific literature, the project will establish a new class of externally actuated 3DMP devices based on surface modification of the printed materials. This in turn will provide a basis for their further exploitation not only in advanced manufacturing, basic and applied sciences, but also in other key enabling technologies of the Horizon Europe programme.

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Coordinating institution of the project

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Funding source(s).