S. Korean scientists develop 3D printing ink from sunflower pollen

A group of South Korean scientists from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore managed to develop 3D printing ink material from sunflower pollen.

The research team led by professor Cho Nam-joon first incubated sunflower pollen in an alkaline solution for six hours before converting the resulting hard pollen grains into softer microgel particles.

The particles were then mixed with alginic acid or hyaluronic acid to create a pollen-hydrogel compound ink.

While existing hydrogel-based bio-inks lack strength following the printing process, making it difficult to maintain a three-dimensional shape and structure, the newly-developed pollen-based bio-ink maintained the structural integrity after printing.

The pollen-based bio-ink can replace the current ink used for 3D printing or bio-printing in biomedical areas.