NTU Studies Aryl Diazirine Photoinitiators for Resin 3D Printing-3DPTimes

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NTU Studies Aryl Diazirine Photoinitiators for Resin 3D Printing

October 27, 2026 Materials 15

The October 23 university report describes resin-printing demonstrations, while the paper’s cell tests support a narrower safety claim than a universally non-toxic resin.

Archive photo: The Hive learning hub at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, photographed on January 19, 2020. This campus image does not show the research laboratory, photoinitiators, printed samples or a building made by this study. Photo: Supanut Arunoprayote, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Hive,_NTU_(I).jpg . License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Reproduced as a JPEG copy of the complete browser-displayed photograph, resized for publication; not original source bytes.

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, have investigated aryl diazirines as light-activated initiators for acrylate resins. NTU highlighted the work on October 23, following publication in NPG Asia Materials on October 16.

The university reports demonstrations including microfluidic channels printed from a soybean-oil-based resin and a light-cured, form-in-place gasket. The research also examines how nitrogen released during activation can counter resin contraction.

The paper compares the compounds with established photoinitiators and evaluates activation across different wavelengths and formulations. Its findings include low cytotoxicity under specified laboratory conditions, rather than proof that every finished resin is harmless.

In tests using the Ker-CT human keratinocyte cell line, compounds labelled III and IV did not reduce measured viability or metabolic activity over the tested 0.17–17 mM range. The authors describe this cell model as an initial risk assessment related to human skin physiology. That result does not establish general consumer safety or medical-device approval.

Processing limits remain. The tested platform did not initiate the evaluated vinyl monomers or ring-opening cyclic ketene acetals, restricting the demonstrated chemistry to acrylates. The authors also identify increased viscosity after prolonged storage as an unresolved concern for print quality.

NTU says the next step is translating the laboratory findings toward industrial manufacturing. The announcement does not present a commercially released printer resin.

Sources:
https://www.ntu.edu.sg/research/research-hub/news/detail/ntu-scientists-develop-non-toxic--light-activated--compound-for-safer-3d-printing-and-advanced-biomaterials
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41427-026-00680-5