Norwich, United Kingdom
January 13, 2016

Above: (Left) Adapter to attach narrow bore needles to laboratory robot for DNA shearing; (right) Magnetic Eppendorf tube stands for collecting magnetic beaded DNA; (below) 5ml magnetic Eppendorf stand – unavailable from suppliers.

After the initial cost of the printer, it is surprisingly cheap to realise commercial quality components; the main overhead is the time spent overcoming the learning curve of the design software and the design/testing process. Indeed, TGAC’s DNA shearing needle adapters (pictured above) are still being refined, and testing is still on-going to identify the best needle size to use – we’re using these for PacBio sequencer library preparation, aiming to further extend the remarkable quality of its output.

Dr Pearson said, ”We're hoping to do (shearing) via automation rather than by hand, in order to take advantage of the consistency of rate and volume of air flow that the robots can achieve. In a given sample, that should give us a higher proportion of DNA sheared to (more or less) the length we want.”

On his desk is a sort of thimble, to assist with opening Eppendorf tubes, which are often quite stubborn against one’s thumb tip. The challenge with this design is deciding whether to bevel the inside to fit all thumb sizes, or make a range of sizes.

Modifying existing 3D print designs to your specifications can save a lot of design/testing effort – there’s rarely any need to re-invent a wheel when there are plenty of designs online. Here is an example of pre-existing structural designs integrated with electronic components to upgrade a microscope belonging to a TGAC scientist (bottom-left).

Significant value can be derived from 3D printing – savings on wholesale commercial items and crafting customised tools that would be otherwise unavailable. Dr Pearson has been involved in several such innovative projects, most of which are still in early development; for example, a re-designed 96 well plate that enables a laser cutter to rapidly separate plant leaf samples for automating RNA extraction. This is promising because it minimises contaminants and errant gene expression from artefacts of sample handling, such as tissue bruising.

Beyond expensive instrument part replacements and novel laboratory equipment, there are yet further applications for 3D printing in science – objets d’art.

Art within science grabs attention, adds impact and offers fresh context to research.

Often, the boundary between art and science emerges from the elegant functionality of a design. There’s nothing quite like holding a physical model of a structure to really understand the aptness of its form and visualise potential mash-ups/variations on its theme. Hence, these projects can be highly inspirational to both scientists and laypeople.

We are planning to make a sculpture of a bacteriophage, a type of virus that looks rather like a syringe with legs. It cuts a striking image, sure to inspire those who see it. The plan here is to use the laser cutter for contoured layers of paper, and depending upon the success of the result, we might then use the 3D printer for the DNA structure within, following electron micrograph images online. The different media should nicely highlight the subject; the DNA cargo contrasting with the mechanical frame.

These projects may seem merely aesthetic, but there are academic messages accompanying this work. Bacteriophages are implicated in intestinal health, modulating populations of gut flora – their resemblance to animated syringes is functional – they inject their DNA into bacteria. Inspiring people to examine such structures could attract valuable research.

Below: (Left) 3D printed casing combining a Raspberry Pi, camera and microscope harness; (right) Helix turn helix protein domain - Interleukin 1

Website: http://www.earlham.ac.uk

Published: January 13, 2016