Scientists 3D print a nano-elephant inside a cell

Researchers from Jožef Stefan Institute, a leading Slovenian scientific research institute, have developed a way to 3D print custom micrometer-sized structures directly into the interior of living cells. As reported in Advanced Materials, the investigators used their method to print complex microstructures in shapes including barcodes, geometric patterns, and even a tiny elephant.

The breakthrough involves placing a safe, light-sensitive material called a photoresist into a cell and then using a special laser to form a tiny structure within the cell with very fine detail.

The material was polymerized using a Nanoscribe two-photon polymerization system. By scanning the focus through the material layer by layer at high speed, the team was able to build solid microstructures while leaving the surrounding cellular environment intact

A cell treated with this method not only contains the newly fabricated structure within its interior but also continues to live and divide, passing it on to one of the daughter cells.

Although the research is preliminary, it could serve as a basis for printing tiny machines or devices within cells to provide additional information about biological functions or to endow cells with enhanced or entirely new properties.

“Our method provides a new tool to manipulate living cells from the inside, enabling a new approach to studying their mechanical and biological responses,” said co-author Maruša Mur, from the Jožef Stefan Institute.