Researchers have discovered an unexpectedly effective – and remarkably cheap – solution for creating ultra-fine nozzles used in 3D printing: the proboscis of the female Egyptian mosquito. This breakthrough, dubbed “3D necroprinting,” tackles a major bottleneck in the field of bioprinting and tissue engineering, where creating structures at a microscopic scale has been hampered by expensive and fragile equipment.
The Problem with Existing Nozzles
Traditional 3D printing nozzles capable of producing extremely fine structures are costly (upwards of $80 per nozzle) and often break easily. Attempts to manufacture such precision tools from materials like glass have proven too brittle and expensive for widespread use. This limitation slowed progress in areas like creating artificial blood vessels and other replacement tissues.
Nature’s Unexpected Solution
Seeking an alternative, researchers at McGill University led by Changhong Cao turned to nature. After considering various biological tools – including scorpion stingers and snake fangs – they found that the proboscis of the Aedes aegypti mosquito was perfectly suited for the task. These natural nozzles can print structures as thin as 20 micrometers, rivaling the performance of commercial alternatives while being significantly cheaper.
“If Mother Nature can provide what we need at an affordable cost, why make it ourselves?” – Changhong Cao, McGill University
Scalability and Cost-Effectiveness
The process is also highly scalable. An experienced technician can produce six usable nozzles per hour from mosquito mouthparts at a cost of less than $1 each. The nozzles, while biological, are surprisingly durable, maintaining functionality for up to two weeks and remaining viable for a year when stored frozen.
Applications in Bioprinting and Beyond
The researchers successfully tested the mosquito proboscis nozzles with Pluronic F-127 bio-ink, a material used to create scaffolds for growing biological tissues, including blood vessels. This opens potential pathways for printing replacement organs and other complex biological structures.
Nature’s Superior Engineering
This innovation highlights a growing trend: engineers are increasingly turning to nature for inspiration, recognizing that millions of years of evolution have already solved many complex design challenges. From moth antennae used in smell-seeking drones to dead spiders repurposed as mechanical grippers, nature often provides superior, low-cost solutions. As Christian Griffiths of Swansea University points out, “You’ve got a couple of million years of mosquito evolution: we’re trying to catch up with that.”
The use of mosquito proboscises represents a clever workaround to a significant technological hurdle, demonstrating that sometimes, the best tools are already available—we just need to look in the right place.
