Our main focus is within the topic of manufacturing polymer and hydrogel materials for addressing a range of open questions in cell biology. Particularly, we place emphasis on light-assisted 3D photopolymerization (e.g. two-photon polymerization-2PP, digital-light projection-DLP and Mask Stereolithography-MSLA), 3D imaging (SEM, two-photon confocal imaging-2PI, light sheet fluorescence microscopy-LSFM) and nano-indenting techniques.

In the context of Life Science Applications and Biology, we employ these methodologies for developing engineered microenvironments able to mimic the main features of natural cellular niches.

This requires fine tuning of the porosity, rigidity, topology and material’s functionalization of the scaffolds. Our target is to use then these biocompatible structures for investigating migration, differentiation and mechanobiology features of cells and tissue-like constructs.