Biomedical Applications

In recent years, 3D printing technology has become a sufficiently mature technique to allow not only the production of objects starting from a design modeling but also a possible customization through the introduction of functionality by the end user. This rapid prototyping technique represents a very promising technology for device fabrication with different application fields (e.g., biological, environmental, food, aerospace), offering advantages over traditional manufacturing methods. Moreover, the 3D printing archetype has introduced novel opportunities for the realization of smart devices, where the added value lies in their intrinsic functionality. In fact, 3D-printed functional materials can transform their structure in response to specific stimuli (e.g., temperature, pH, light radiation, etc.), adding to the printed object interesting properties to take advantage of. Recently, this paradigm has been explored and expanded by researcher’s/engineer’s community with the aim of realizing 3D printable objects that present exploitable chemical functionalities. In this chapter, functional 3D objects for bio-applications have been reported, combining 3D printing technology with an accurate material engineering. The result is a single step 3D-printed object with intrinsic chemical functionalities that could be exploited to produce immunoassay-based and/or enzymatically active devices for biosensing purposes and precision medicine.