3D Printing Technique Produces 'Living' 4D Materials

摘要

Repairing and reusing plastics and delivering cancer drugs more effectively are two of the many potential applications a new 3D/4D printing technology might have. The technology merges 3D/4D printing and photo-controlled/living polymerization -a chemical process to create polymers. 4D printing is a subset of 3D printing where the printed object can transform its shape in response to certain conditions. The new method uses visible light to create an environmentally friendly "living" plastic or polymer. Polymers can be synthetic, such as plastic, as well as biological; for example, DNA. The research builds upon the discovery of Photoinduced Electron/energy Transfer-Reversible Addition Fragmentation Chain Transfer polymerization (PET-RAFT polymerization), a new way to make controlled polymers using visible light. Such polymers can be reactivated for further growth, unlike traditional polymers that are "dead" after being made.