Ultrafast optical pulses for advanced 3D microstructure fabrication and assembly

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) has emerged as an exceptional 3D fabrication tool for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Constructs fabricated using TPP can be further enhanced by functional particles or cells to improve their targeted applications. This enhancement can be achieved through the combination of TPP using femtosecond lasers, and optical tweezers (OT) using continuous wave (CW) laser sources. However, this complicates the optical alignment; additionally, conventional CW-OT requires high intensity which poses risks of photodamage to heat-sensitive components. In this study, we demonstrate an integrated platform using the same ultrafast laser source for fabrication and manipulation of 3D microstructures without inducing thermal damage.