MIT Researchers Develop 3D-Printed Nozzle Array for Drug-Delivery Microparticle Production

A team at MIT has demonstrated that triaxial electrospray emitter arrays — previously impossible to fabricate outside of semiconductor-grade cleanrooms — can be produced using a commercial high-resolution 3D resin printer with a 27-micrometer pixel size from Asiga. The resulting nozzles spray three immiscible liquids simultaneously to form layered microdroplets smaller than those achievable through purely physical methods. The current prototype fits 16 emitters into one square centimeter, and the modular design means arrays could theoretically be tiled to much larger sizes; scaled to one square foot, the array would contain roughly 15,000 emitters. Potential applications include drug-delivery particles that release medicine at specific points in the digestive tract, self-healing materials, and artificial cells for tissue regeneration, with the outer layer acting as a protective shell, the middle layer carrying a therapeutic agent, and the core containing an antibiotic. Velásquez-García noted that the critical innovation lies in the tube network and support structure designs, and that emitter density is currently limited by 3D printer resolution rather than the underlying concept. The team believes the design is ready for commercialization and has invited interested parties to contact MIT for licensing. Fabrication costs and material compatibility — particularly matching resin feedstock to the chemicals being sprayed — remain practical considerations for commercial partners.