The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread through more than 180 countries, leading to diverse health systems overload around the world. Because of the high number of patients and the supply chain disruption, it generated a shortage of medical devices and personal protective equipment. In this context, initiatives from the additive manufacturing community emerged to fight the lack of devices. Diverse designs were produced and are currently being used in hospitals by patients and health workers. However, as some devices must follow strict standards, these products may not fulfill these standards. Therefore, to ensure the user's health, there is a need for understanding each device, their usage, and standards. This study reviews the use of additive manufacturing during COVID-19 pandemic. It gathers the source of several 3D printed devices such as face shields, face masks, valves, nasopharyngeal swabs, and others, discussing their use and regulatory issues. In this regard, the major drawbacks of the technology, addressed for the next pandemic scenario, are highlighted. Finally, some insights of the future of additive manufacturing during emergency are given and discussed.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and early diagnosis is the best strategy to reduce mortality risk. Biosensors to detect cancer biomarkers are based on various principles of detection, including electrochemical, optical, electrical, and mechanical measurements. Despite the advances in the identification of biomarkers and the conventional 2D manufacturing processes, detection methods for cancers still require improvements in terms of selectivity and sensitivity, especially for point-of-care diagnosis. Three-dimensional printing may offer the features to produce complex geometries in the design of high-precision, low-cost sensors. Three-dimensional printing, also known as additive manufacturing, allows for the production of sensitive, user-friendly, and semi-automated sensors, whose composition, geometry, and functionality can be controlled. This paper reviews the recent use of 3D printing in biosensors for cancer diagnosis, highlighting the main advantages and advances achieved with this technology. Additionally, the challenges in 3D printing technology for the mass production of high-performance biosensors for cancer diagnosis are addressed.

No abstract

The additive manufacturing (AM) technique can produce Ti-6Al-4V ELI (extra low interstitial) alloy for personalized biomedical devices. However, the Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy presents poor tribological behavior. Regarding this, coatings are a feasible approach to improve the wear resistance of this alloy. In the literature, the tribological behavior of TiO2 coatings incorporated with Ca and P formed by one-step plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) on Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy processed by AM has not been investigated. Thus, in the present work, it was studied the influence of Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy processed by AM on the wear resistance and morphologic of the coating obtained by PEO (plasma electrolytic oxidation). In this way, three different voltages (200, 250, and 300 V) were employed for the PEO process and the voltage effect on the properties of the coatings. The coatings were characterized by contact profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, the sessile drop method, grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, and wear tests, on a ball-on-plate tribometer. The increase in applied voltage promoted an increase in roughness, pore area, and a decrease in the pore population of the coatings. In addition, the coatings, mainly composed of anatase and rutile, showed good adhesion to the metallic substrate, and the presence of bioactive elements Ca and P were detected. The thickness of the coatings obtained by PEO increases drastically for voltages higher than 250 V (from 4.50 ± 0.33 to 23.83 ± 1.5 µm). However, coatings obtained with lower voltages presented thin and dense layers, which promoted a superior wear resistance (increase in wear rate from 1.99 × 10−6 to 2.60 × 10−5 mm3/s). Finally, compared to the uncoated substrate, the PEO coatings increased the wear resistance of the titanium alloy obtained by AM, also showing a superior wear resistance compared to the commercial Ti-6Al-4V alloy previously evaluated, being such a positive and promising behavior for application in the area of metallic implants.