title: On the intrinsic sterility of 3D printing.
abstract: 3D printers that build objects using extruded thermoplastic are quickly becoming commonplace tools in laboratories. We demonstrate that with appropriate handling, these devices are capable of producing sterile components from a non-sterile feedstock of thermoplastic without any treatment after fabrication. The fabrication process itself results in sterilization of the material. The resulting 3D printed components are suitable for a wide variety of applications, including experiments with bacteria and cell culture.
authors.affiliation: Genome Center, UC Davis , Davis , USA.
authors.forename: Russell Y
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Neches
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School , Ann Arbor , MI , USA.
authors.forename: Kaitlin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.affiliation: BEACON Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zaman
authors.affiliation: Pivot Bio , San Francisco , CA , USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School , Ann Arbor , MI , USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pudlo
keywords: 3D printing; Cell culture; Methods; Microbiology; PLA; Pasteurization; Polylactic acid; Sterile technique