Welcome to “necroprinting”—3D printer nozzle made from mosquito’s proboscis

“To integrate the proboscis, we first removed it from an already euthanized mosquito under a microscope,” Cao explains. Then the proboscis/nozzle was aligned with the outlet of the plastic tip. Finally, the proboscis and the tip were bonded with UV-curable resin.

The necroprinter achieved a resolution ranging from 18 to 22 microns, which was two times smaller than the printers using the smallest commercially available metal dispensing tips. The first print tests included…