Introduction

This part is the link between our biological work and the 3D printer. After production and purification of the monomer molecules in E. coli, they need to be connected to short polymers, the prepolymers. Those fluid prepolymers are used in our 3D printer as a resin, the basis from which the final and hardened 3D structures emerge.

We used different monomers in varying proportions to produce the prepolymers. We were able to create a lot of alternative prepolymers with different physical properties. Those can be utilized to adjust the physical properties of the final polymers.

Schematic overview