Two-photon polymerization for biological applications

Two-photon polymerization (2PP) leverages the two-photon absorption (TPA) of near-infrared (NIR) radiation for additive manufacturing with sub-diffraction limit resolution within the bulk of a photosensitive material. This technology draws heavily on photosensitive polymers from the microelectronics industry, which were not optimized for TPA or for biocompatibility. 2PP with sub 100 nm resolution has been repeatedly demonstrated; however, this level of fabrication resolution comes at the expense of long fabrication times. Manufacturing of medical devices beyond surface texturing would be prohibitively slow using the current state of the art 2PP technology. Current research into TPA-sensitive photopolymers with good biocompatibility and holographic projections using spatial light modulators address current technological limitations by providing materials specifically formulated for biological applications and by making better use of available laser power for applications in which nanoscale resolution is not required.