What if pharmaceutical dosing could be as precise as printing electronics?
What if therapies could be applied as easily as a temporary tattoo? In this first interview in a three-part series on 3D printing biomaterials, we speak with Marcel Grooten of DoMicro. His company brings decades of experience in high-precision inkjet printing into a new domain: pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Can you briefly introduce DoMicro and your role?
“I’ve been leading DoMicro for over ten years now. We develop high-precision micro dispensing technology, mainly based on inkjet printing. Traditionally, we’ve worked in areas like printed electronics, where accuracy and control at very small scales are essential.”
You’re now involved in a biomedical programme. What is this project about?
“About two years ago, we were invited to join a European programme focused on inkjet printing in biomedical applications. (editores note: inkjet-bioAM) For us, that was new territory. We understand the printing technology very well, but pharma and medical applications were not our original domain.
Within the programme, there are several tracks. One focuses on bioscaffolds, another on biosensors, and the one we are involved in is about inkjet printing of active pharmaceutical ingredients – APIs.”
What is the concrete application you are working towards?
“One of the use cases is a medicated patch, similar to a temporary tattoo. The idea is to deliver pharmaceuticals through the skin, for example to provide local anaesthesia for children who are afraid of needles. The challenge is not just printing, but making APIs printable, stable, and effective in that form.”
You come from inkjet printing for electronics. How does that translate to healthcare?
“At its core, it’s about understanding the inkjet process. You need to know how fluids behave, how to generate droplets, and how to control patterning and dosing.
In electronics, that’s one thing. In pharma, it’s very different. But the strength of inkjet remains the same: extremely precise dosing. We’re talking about droplets of just a few picolitres. That level of control is very relevant for pharmaceuticals.”
Why is this level of precision so important in this context?
“Because dosing matters. In pharma, reproducibility and accuracy are critical. Inkjet printing allows you to deposit exactly what you need, where you need it.
At the same time, we are still exploring whether this technology is truly the right fit. It’s not straightforward.”
What are the main challenges you encounter?
“There are several. One is the compatibility between the formulation and the printhead. In electronics, you can work at higher temperatures, but in pharma you have to be much more careful. You also need the formulation to be fully compatible with the process. If it’s not properly dissolved, you simply cannot print it. Viscosity, composition, stability… Everything becomes critical.”
You are collaborating with partners on validation. How does that work?
“Through the programme, we connected with Ourobionics, which develops artificial human skin models. That collaboration is very valuable, because we need a realistic test environment. Our research partners, including the University of Graz and Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering, use these models to study how APIs behave when applied to the skin—especially the transdermal properties.”
Where do you stand today in the project?
“We are roughly halfway. So far, we’ve focused on materials and compatibility. For example, selecting suitable substrates and adhesives that work with the skin and do not interfere with the API.
We’ve also been testing whether the different layers in the patch interact in the right way. And we are now setting up a pilot line to move towards a more industrial process.
At the same time, we already established an initial setup in Helmond to take the first steps towards scaling.”
And what is the goal towards the end of the project?
“ The aim is to be ready for clinical trials. That means having both the product and the process in place.
We are also looking at GMP compatibility, to ensure that what we develop can actually be translated into a regulated production environment.
From there, it’s about testing the market and seeing how this type of solution is received.”
A technology looking for its place
Inkjet printing may not be the first technology that comes to mind in 3D printing of biomaterials. But its strength, precision, control and digital manufacturing, makes it a compelling candidate.
What this project shows is not a finished solution, but a direction: bringing highly controlled printing technologies into the world of pharmaceuticals.In this series of three interviews with leading experts in the field of 3D printing, we explore how different approaches to 3D printing of biomaterials compare and where they may converge.
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