Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42247516›Full record

ArticleScience advances2026

Light-based 3D printing of mechanoluminescent living gels loaded with dinoflagellates.

Rani Boons, Mathias Steinacher, Henning Galinski, Vincent Niggel, Tanja Zimmermann, Gustav Nyström, Gilberto Siqueira, André R Studart

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Rani BoonsComplex Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-4434-0579
Mathias SteinacherComplex Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-5906-7803
Henning GalinskiLaboratory for Nanometallurgy, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
Vincent NiggelLaboratory for Soft Materials and Interfaces, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-5407-3307
Tanja ZimmermannCellulose and Wood Materials Laboratory, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
Gustav NyströmCellulose and Wood Materials Laboratory, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-2739-3222
Gilberto SiqueiraComplex Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0001-9090-8116
André R StudartComplex Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-4205-8545

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dinoflagellates, a group of marine unicellular algae, are known for the fascinating glowing effects in coastal waters. While this natural mechanoluminescent phenomenon has been explored in pressure sensors and optical transducers, technologies to shape dinoflagellate-containing materials into more complex, engineering-relevant geometries remain limited. Here, we report a three-dimensional printing strategy to manufacture complex-shaped mechanoluminescent objects using dinoflagellates embedded in biocompatible hydrogels. The growth and mechanoluminescence of the entrapped dinoflagellates were investigated by optical microscopy, emission spectroscopy, and mechanical testing of cell-laden gels. Dinoflagellate-laden gels showed strong bioluminescence when compressed at sufficiently high strain and strain rates. By incorporating the dinoflagellates into a photo-curable hydrogel, we shaped such living material into complex geometries using a widely available light-based printing technique. The ability to print dinoflagellate-laden gels into intricate shapes broadens the design space available for the creation of mechanoluminescent living objects for applications in soft robotics, self-powered sensing, and optical transduction.

Indexed as

DinoflagellidaHydrogelsLightPrinting, Three-DimensionalGelsLuminescenceGelsHydrogels

Identifiers

PMID42247516
PMCPMC13240182

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.