The study asks how renewable terpene-derived monomers can be molecularly designed for two-photon polymerisation. It synthesises new multi-acrylates and experimentally prints microtopographies and a detailed logo, with scanning electron microscopy showing that the nopol-derived triacrylate NTA produces well-defined, smooth features at reported processing conditions. This is a small-scale fabrication demonstration: proposed biofilm resistance is based on molecular descriptor calculations, and the biological effects of the newly printed surfaces are not directly tested.

Renewable molecules. A focused beam of light. A new way to build a microscopic world.

This paper turns terpene-derived monomers into printable resins—and shows why the way a molecule connects matters as much as where the laser goes.

An interactive reading of Dabrowska et al. (2026)

Can your resin hold its shape?

Choose a molecule, tune the light, then wash away the uncured resin. Discover the difference between a printable material and a precise one.

A flexible molecule. A faithful print.

At 80 mW and 10 mm/s, NTA produced clearly defined, smooth Topo 990 structures. Three reactive arms and a flexible linker support network formation.

The surface is an illustration of the paper’s print outcomes, rather than a reconstruction of its microscopy. Relative exposure follows the qualitative proxy P² / v : more power or slower motion increases exposure. Outcomes at the settings identified as “reported” follow the paper’s observations; other combinations are exploratory illustrations. No continuous printability map was measured for NTA. Geometry is adapted from Topo 990 (Supporting Figure S2); dimensions, heights, laser path and wash timing are schematic.

Two photons. One tiny writing point.

Near-infrared light passes through the resin. At the intense focus, a photoinitiator absorbs two photons and starts polymerisation. Moving this tiny active volume—the voxel—draws a solid network inside liquid resin.

Reactive acrylate groups connect the monomers—the small molecular building blocks of the network. But a count of two or three groups is only part of the story: their placement, the core’s rigidity and the resin’s viscosity change how well the network forms.

The researchers used a Nanoscribe Photonic Professional GT+ with a 63× oil-immersion objective (NA 1.4). Resin droplets of 2–5 µL contained 2–5 wt% Irgacure 369 photoinitiator and were printed on functionalised glass. Uncured resin was removed with PGMEA for 10 minutes, followed by isopropanol for 10 minutes. The resulting structures were examined by scanning electron microscopy.

NTA’s reported Topo 990 and Topo 27 prints used 0.5 µm hatching and slicing distances.

Conceptual diagram · the focal volume is schematic.

The right arms. The freedom to connect.

The researchers designed acrylate monomers from renewable terpene building blocks, then compared how each performed under the laser.

NTA 3 acrylates

Three arms with more freedom to move. A flexible linker and less constrained ring support effective crosslinking.

VTA 3 acrylates

Three reactive arms on a more constrained core. The print outcome changes sharply with scan speed.

VDA 2 acrylates + OH

Two acrylates can still make a printable network. Its high viscosity also makes uniform mixing more difficult.

α-PDA 2 acrylates

A rigid core and low viscosity were proposed to hinder network formation. Increasing exposure did not yield successful prints.

Molecular drawings above are simplified design schematics; orange marks reactive acrylate groups. See the source figures for chemical structures.

The detail is real.

The virtual lab points back to a fabrication result: NTA retained the irregular Topo 990 features after development. The scan lines and shape edges are visible in the electron microscope.

The scale bar measures thirty millionths of a metre.

From shapes to fine lettering.

The same NTA resin also printed the University of Nottingham logo. Of the tested 8, 10 and 12 mm/s scan speeds at 80 mW, 12 mm/s gave the smoothest fine detail in the letter “h”.

12 mm/s · The authors reported the smoothest fine detail in the letter “h”.

Renewable chemistry, with a finer future.

The result expands the toolbox of renewable monomers for high-precision additive manufacturing.

It also opens a route toward bio-instructive surfaces. The test patterns came from earlier work on topographies that favour an M2-like response in macrophages, immune cells associated with tissue repair and immune regulation. Here, the achievement is fabricating those shapes in biobased materials.

Potential resistance to bacterial attachment was inferred from molecular descriptors. The biological function of these printed materials remains a prospect to explore; the demonstrated result is their fabrication.

Molecular Design of Biobased, Printable Monomers for Two-Photon Polymerisation

Monika Dabrowska · Brandon Tuck · Evan Shelton · Steven M. Howdle · Robert A. Stockman · Derek J. Irvine

Accepted/corrected manuscript, University of Nottingham repository (2026). Related article: Macromolecular Rapid Communications, e70323. DOI: 10.1002/marc.70323

Repository manuscript ↗ · Published article ↗ · Supporting information ↗

Source figures are credited to Dabrowska et al. and reused under CC BY 4.0, with cropping and resizing indicated in captions. Artwork is an AI-generated conceptual illustration. Interactive surfaces and chemical schematics are explanatory illustrations; reported recipes and outcomes are identified within the lab.