Skip to main content

Scientists invent antimicrobial 3D printing material that can kill 99% of bacteria

By
The 3D printed plastic material that can kill 99% of bacteria could revolutionise dental implants

Scientists from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have invented a type of 3D printed plastic that can kill 99% of bacteria that touches it, which could pave the way for a multitude of medical, dental, food hygiene and child safety applications.

The researchers took the dental resin polymers that are used to make artificial teeth implants and embedded antimicrobial quaternary ammonium salts inside the polymers. The salts are positively charged, which causes negatively charged bacterial membranes to burst and die.

The polymer was then put into a 3D printer and used to print out a range of dental items, including replacement teeth implants and orthodontic braces, with the objects hardened using ultraviolet light.

When the objects were coated in a mix of saliva and Streptococcus mutans, the bacterium that causes tooth decay, the researchers found that the new material was able to kill over 99% of the bacteria, whereas the dental resin polymer on its own could only kill 1% of bacteria.

Teeth implants are expensive and just like with real teeth, bacteria can cause a great deal of damage to false teeth and infect the gums and teeth around the implants. But this problem could become a thing of the past using antimicrobial plastic.

For now, the material is still being tested, as the experiments only tested the effects of the saliva and bacteria on dental samples coated with the mix over a period of six days, and the researchers have yet to ascertain whether the material is compatible with toothpaste.

However, once the material is conclusively tested, as dental resin is already considered to be safe for humans, the new material could be used in a wide range of non-dental applications – such as for children's toys, to improve food packaging or in water purification.

Stratasys 3D Printers and Materials are available in Australia and New Zealand from Objective3D, a complete 3D Printing Solutions provider. From 3D Printers, 3D Parts, 3D Scanners including Printer Maintenance services and consumables for Stratasys 3D printers, Objective3D is the largest distributor of Stratasys 3D Printers across Australia and New Zealand, and were recently awarded the Stratasys Customer Satisfaction and Support Award for 2013 for the Asia Pacific region. 

Objective3D is also a total solutions provider of 3D printing and custom manufacturing through the the largest additive manufacturing centre in the southern hemisphere - Objective3D Advanced Manufacturing Centre, powered by Stratasys Direct Manufacturing with 16 commercial grade machines provides the widest range of 3D printing technologies and materials to enable a broad range of specialist solutions.

For more details, visit www.objective3d.com.au or call 03-9785 2333 (AUS)  09-801 0380 (NZ) or try out our INSTANT ONLINE QUOTING SYSTEM if you have need a 3D Part Printed.



Popular posts from this blog

Delivering High Quantities of Prototypes Fast

By
Objective3D Direct Manufacturing produces parts using a range of additive and conventional manufacturing technologies. We offer tailored solutions for your project’s needs. If your project requires larger quantities of small parts – fast, Laser Sintering is the best technological solution for you. Per-part pricing is reduced as quantities increase, but there are more advantages to using Laser Sintering for small prototypes than price alone. Laser Sintering (LS) provides strong, versatile and geometrically intricate components made from filled and un-filled nylon materials that are ideal for fit and form verification and functional testing. Prototypes made with LS are created quickly and offer robust solutions for your project. FAST Delivery Laser Sintering can provide sturdy, functional prototypes as little as 24 hours. Multi-component designs can be incorporated into single structures, allowing engineers to produce complex features and geometries in one print, and elim
Read more

How Artec Space Spider helps measure the shape-shifting of birds in response to climate change.

By
Challenge:  In the past century, researchers have been studying a variety of birds in Australia to see how their bodies have changed as a result of global warming in order to determine how to adjust. In order to document the exact dimensions of thousands of beaks of 86 different species of birds in museums in a fast, accurate, and convenient manner, they needed a fast, accurate, and convenient method. Solution: Artec Space Spider, Artec Studio Results: By using the handheld 3D scanner Artec Space Spider, each bird can be scanned in submillimeter colour 3D in approximately two minutes. This makes it easy to scan anywhere from 30-50 birds in one museum visit. Scan processing takes just under six minutes for each bird. PhD candidate Sara Ryding 3D scanning an Australian galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) with Artec Space Spider (image credit: Sara Ryding) One of the most startling impacts of global warming has taken place for decades now: multiple species of birds around the world have been
Read more

3D scanning and reverse engineering streamline original furniture design and production

By
MU Form Furniture Design is an Oakland-based company that designs, manufactures and distributes furniture products for the modern home and business. The company is never short of orders since good and original design is sought after by architects and interior designers. The main material MU Form works with is high-quality bent ply, which is one of the most widely used materials in this industry due to its ability to create a variety of shapes for chairs, stools, and tables. The company’s specialists seek to create great designs that pose a challenge for other manufacturers to copy or replicate. The V Dining Chair in red and grey, designed by MU Form’s Po Shun Leong. “Our designers are tasked to develop furniture designs that require a significant amount of trial and error by developing physical prototypes of chairs and stools,” says Mark Leong, CEO of MU Form. To produce a new original piece of furniture, MU Form would normally ship a physical prototype model to a factory
Read more