UpNano secures €7M in Series A financing to boost its 2PP technology - 3D Printing Industry

2PP 3D printing specialist UpNano has closed a €7 million Series A financing round to accelerate the development of its technology.

This round was backed by aws Gründungsfonds, NovaCapital, IGO Innovation GmbH, and existing investor ILUM Tec. Building on the success of its NanoOne series, recognized for applications in biomedicine, electronics, and photonics, UpNano aims to further enhance its 2 Photon Polymerization (2PP) technology and scale up international distribution.

“We are delighted that our existing technology, IP position, and marketing strategy have been externally evaluated by experienced investors, and that they agree on the great potential of our company,” says Bernhard Küenburg, CEO of UpNano, “The new investment of EUR 7 million as well as the extensive experience of our investors in supporting young and successful companies on their growth path are great assets for UpNano.”

UpNano’s 2PP technology progress

Recent developments in UpNano’s 2PP technology reflect the company’s ongoing progress, with a 57% increase in turnover in 2023, driven by rising demand for its NanoOne 3D printer series. To meet this growing demand, the company expanded its facilities in the EU and US and increased its workforce.

These efforts were complemented by the introduction of smart stitching software and new materials like Hydrotech INX U200 bio-ink, co-developed with BIO INX, which enhanced product quality and printing speed. Market research also identified opportunities for 3D printing in industries such as microfluidics and medical devices, further supporting growth.

Back in 2021, UpNano introduced the NanoOne Bio 3D bioprinting system, designed for printing tissue structures with living cells at both nano- and mesoscales. Built on the NanoOne platform, it works with a new bioink, X Hydrobio INX U200, developed in partnership with Xpect INX.

This bioink allows the embedding of living cells directly from culture plates into 3D scaffolds. By overcoming past limitations in bioprinting, this advancement offers pharmaceutical companies and research institutions the ability to create more realistic cell models, enhancing drug development and biomedical research accuracy.

Before this, UpNano enhanced its NanoOne 2PP 3D printer by incorporating a high-power laser, optimized optical pathways, and adaptive resolution technology. These upgrades have resulted in faster production speeds, allowing for precise nano and microscale resolution across various part sizes.

Leveraging up to one watt of laser power, alongside smart algorithms, the system efficiently prints objects from centimeter to micrometer scale. Significant interest has emerged in both research and industry, especially in med-tech, where applications like microneedles, springs, and functional parts have broadened the potential for filtering and separation technologies, said the company.

Broader applications of 2PP technology

In parallel with UpNano’s work, University of Birmingham and University of Southern Queensland researchers optimized a micro-3D printing process, using 2PP to create polymeric microneedles. Adjustments to laser power, print speed, and slicing distances helped develop microneedles with side channels for drug delivery and biomarker monitoring.

Shorter microneedles (150µm) withstood higher loads than longer ones. Successful skin penetration tests were conducted on pig cadavers, showing no signs of cytotoxicity or inflammation. Researchers said this optimized process could be used to create other high-resolution microstructures as well.

On a similar note, researchers from the University of Grenoble developed a novel 3D printing method using deformable magnetic fields to create complex microstructures. By integrating magnetic microbeads into a 2PP process, the team produced nanoscale tweezers controlled by an external magnetic field.

This approach allowed for precisely manipulating 3D printed objects through displacement, rotation, and deformation. The technique could lead to advanced microactuators and magnetically-poled hydrogels for drug delivery. Testing included a nanoscale 3D printed Millennium Falcon, demonstrating the versatility of this method for soft robotics and other applications.

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Featured image shows UpNano application room. Photo via UpNano.

With a background in journalism, Ada has a keen interest in frontier technology and its application in the wider world. Ada reports on aspects of 3D printing ranging from aerospace and automotive to medical and dental.