Two-photon laser polymerization: from fundamentals to biomedical application in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

J Appl Biomater Funct Mater. 2012 Jun 26;10(1):55-65. doi: 10.5301/JABFM.2012.9278.

Abstract

Three-dimensional material microstructuring by femtosecond laser-induced two-photon polymerization is emerging as an important tool in biomedicine. During two-photon polymerization, a tightly focused femtosecond laser pulse induces a crosslinking photoreaction in the polymer confined within the focal volume. As a rapid-prototyping technique, two-photon polymerization enables the fabrication of truly arbitrary three-dimensional micro- and nano-structures directly from computer models, with a spatial resolution down to 100 nm. In this review, we discuss the fundamentals, experimental methods, and materials used for two-photon polymerization; in addition, we present some applications of this technology related to microfluidics and to biomaterial scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biocompatible Materials*
  • Bioengineering
  • Humans
  • Lasers*
  • Photochemical Processes
  • Photons*
  • Polymerization*
  • Tissue Engineering
  • Tissue Scaffolds*

Substances

  • Biocompatible Materials