3D Printing of Air

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3D Printing of Air | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article 3D Printing of Air Ibrahim Ozbolat, Deepak Gupta, Henrique Piva, Vaibhav Pal, Suihong Liu, and 10 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7762382/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Historically, three-dimensional (3D) printing involved depositing tangible materials onto a substrate or within a supporting medium to create solid and porous architectures. Here, we unveil 3D printing of air, an intangible and invisible ink having 10^9 times less viscosity than conventional inks, to spatially pattern bubbles and fabricate freeform air channels in 3D within diverse materials. This study delves into air bubble dynamics, encompassing formation, deformation, spatiotemporal stability in non-spherical configurations, and interaction within yield stress materials. We integrate machine learning algorithms to predict air printability based on material properties, providing a framework for rational material selection. The interplay between yield stress, viscosity, and nozzle diameter facilitates the formation of stable air channels with extremely high aspect ratios ( 4×10^4). These insights establish a foundation for harnessing air as a printable medium and as a functional ink in applications spanning biology, optics, material science, engineering, and medicine. Physical sciences/Materials science/Soft materials/Gels and hydrogels Physical sciences/Materials science/Biomaterials/Biomedical materials Full Text Additional Declarations Yes there is potential Competing Interest. I.T.O. serves as a scientific advisor for Biolife4D and Healshape and owns stock in Biolife4D. All other authors declare that they have no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterial.docx Supplementary information document MovieS11.mp4 Diffusion into GelMA-based M2 MovieS7.mp4 3DAirP of a spiral-shaped uniform air channel in a silicone-based M2 MovieS1.mp4 3DAirP with a ball nozzle in a silicone-based M2 MovieS8.mp4 µCT data demonstrating uniform sinusoidal patterns in the horizontal channels MovieS4.mp4 3DAirP to create a 3D spiral made of uniform sized bubbles in a silicone-based M1 MovieS6.mp4 Perfusion of colored dye in air-printed serpentine channels MovieS12.mp4 Aspiration-assisted bioprinting of spheroids near an air printed channel MovieS2.mp4 3DAirP in silicone-based M1 to M2 and four intermediate material formulations namely M1A, M1B, M1C, and M1D MovieS13.mp4 Branching of air printed channels using aspiration with needles of different radii MovieS3.mp4 3DAirP bubbles in a silicone-based M1 with ball nozzle MovieS5.mp4 Demonstration of reversible 3DAirP MovieS9.mp4 Branching of air printed channels MovieS10.mp4 Branching of air printed channels using aspiration Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7762382","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":535776333,"identity":"748e01af-8abf-4042-bdd1-8bf4b58b6271","order_by":0,"name":"Ibrahim 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All other authors declare that they have no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"3D Printing of Air","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7762382/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7762382/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Historically, three-dimensional (3D) printing involved depositing tangible materials onto a substrate or within a supporting medium to create solid and porous architectures. Here, we unveil 3D printing of air, an intangible and invisible ink having ~10^9 times less viscosity than conventional inks, to spatially pattern bubbles and fabricate freeform air channels in 3D within diverse materials. This study delves into air bubble dynamics, encompassing formation, deformation, spatiotemporal stability in non-spherical configurations, and interaction within yield stress materials. We integrate machine learning algorithms to predict air printability based on material properties, providing a framework for rational material selection. The interplay between yield stress, viscosity, and nozzle diameter facilitates the formation of stable air channels with extremely high aspect ratios (~ 4×10^4). 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