3D printing of ordered structures: applications in chemistry and engineering

Perfectly ordered structures have been reported to drastically outperform traditional packing in a variety of applications in chemistry and engineering. While this used to be a rather theoretical concept, 3D printing now enables the fabrication of such ordered structures, with complex geometry, and with resolution at the micron scale.

In this lecture I will present a holistic toolbox to design, manufacture and characterize such structures. In my research group we blend a range of modelling and experimental methods, from fluid dynamics to machine learning, from materials science to engineering practice. I will demonstrate how our approach to 3D printing delivers optimized structures and materials with improved performance, with specific focus on applications in the separation sciences (e.g. chromatography) and biotechnology sectors (e.g. bioreactors).

Hopefully this talk will spark your interest on this topic, and make you realize how 3D printed structures could complement and boost your research, regardless of its background and scope!

Simone Dimartino is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Bioengineering at the University of Edinburgh. He did his PhD at the University of Bologna on membrane-based separations in the biopharmaceutical industry (2009), followed by an academic position at the University of Christchurch, New Zealand, where he explored new separation methods for the production of biologics. He now employs 3D printing methods for the fabrication of devices with perfectly ordered internal morphology, with applications ranging bioseparations, biocatalysis and heat transfer. To know more about his research please watch: fun science communication video, and interview on the future of 3D printing and chromatography.