UpNano steps in where established 3D printing technologies give up. The provider of high-resolution laser lithography systems is a door opener for completely novel micro and nano products and applications.

Extremely small, high-precision components, previously considered
impossible to manufacture, can now be efficiently and individually shaped in 3D printers. Moreover, at a speed up to 100 times higher than with  comparable technologies. This feat was accomplished by WILD customer UpNano, who developed a high-resolution 3D printer for polymer microparts now sold worldwide. The device goes by the
name NanoOne and uses multiphoton lithography to manufacture both ultrafine components with structural details in the range of 170 nm and macroscopic microparts in the centimetre range, opening a plethora of possible applications. The first examples already demonstrate what will be made possible by this technology in the future, e.g. in medical and filter technology or in micro-optics.

BIOPRINTING FOR RESEARCH
The origins of UpNano‘s high resolution 3D printing lie in socalled bioprinting, i.e. the printing of 3D structures containing
layers of living cells. These biosystems, measuring just a few millimetres, are used in research, e.g. to test and evaluate
pharmaceuticals. The advantage of this method lies in the fact that cells behave more naturally in a 3D context than in a
two-dimensional cell layer.

TISSUE REPLACEMENT AND INTELLIGENT BANDAGES
UpNano founder and CEO Dr. Bernhard Küenburg also sees a considerable potential in 3D-printed biofunctional tissue
replacement. The idea behind this is to insert stem cells into specific sensitive areas such as the retina to seal tissue defects
or to accelerate the healing process. ”We will be seeing identical or similar research projects in the coming years,especially in the area of small cell agglomerates which need to be particularly precise.“

What sounds less like science fiction and is currently pending clinical examination, however, is an intelligent bandage that indicates when it needs to be replaced. Using technology from UpNano, a customer from Sweden developed sensors with printed electronics for this purpose, which monitor indicators for infections such as temperature, blood pressure, or humidity in the wound. The system consists of an electrochromic display combined with a sensor that generates voltage when exposed to exudate. In combination with the exudate, the electrodes generate enough power to cause the display  to change colour, indicating that it‘s time to change the bandage.

PURE QUARTZ GLASS STRAIGHT OUT OF THE 3D PRINTER
In principle, the NanoOne can only be used to print polymer objects. There is now a method, however, which allows the printing of microstructures made of glass in any desired shape. The first step consists of mixing nano glass powder (the glass particles measure approx. 40 nm across) made by Freiburg-based partner company Glassomer into the polymer. The result is a kind of liquid glass jelly that can be printed using a 3D printer. Subsequently, the polymer is burned off at high temperature, causing the glass globules to sinter and coalesce. The end product is high-quality, pure quartz glass. This is how Küenburg describes the advantage of this two-step approach: ”This thermal process causes the printed forms to shrink on a three-dimensional scale and there is no tension whatsoever in the product itself. In addition, quartz glass is chemically not corrodible or toxic. These high-precision glass structures are therefore extremely interesting for various areas of application ranging from endoscopy to microfluidics. The possibilities are virtually endless. Everything you can draw can also be printed.“

MICROFLUIDICS AND MICROFILTERS
Another topic UpNano faces almost daily is microfluidics. After all, NanoOne can also easily build spatial structures
with fine channels. Contrary to microfilters made of celluloses or other fibrous materials whose pore size is always subject to large fluctuation margins, NanoOne can print microfilters with precisely defined pore sizes of up to 1 x 1 micrometres in just a few hours.

”One can choose any filter shape. In order to keep the very fine filter struts mechanically stable, we also print additional
support structures into the product. Such microcomponents cannot be manufactured conventionally,“ says Küenburg,
who has never made a secret about the fact that the WILD Group has been on board from the very beginning as a 
manufacturing partner. The technology partner has actually been assigned with the serial production of the NanoOne
and, together with other WIN network partners, has further optimised its design during development to obtain a desktop device that fits into the smallest laboratory. ”We see ourselves as industrialisation specialists who can guarantee professional serial production regardless of batch size. If necessary, we are also capable of quickly scaling up production to  accommodate large quantities“, stresses WILD Group CTO Wolfgang Warum.