Mosquitoes are best known for their bites — but their anatomy may also help shape the future of advanced manufacturing. Scientists from McGill University and Drexel University have successfully repurposed the mosquito’s proboscis as an ultra-fine nozzle for high-resolution 3D printing.

🧬 Why the Proboscis Works

A mosquito’s proboscis evolved to slide between skin cells to reach blood vessels. As a result, it is:

• Extremely thin
• Naturally hollow
• Rigid and straight
• Capable of delivering fluids with high precision

These properties make it ideal for printing microscopic structures — without the high cost or fragility of specialized metal or glass nozzles.

🖨️ What Scientists Achieved

Using sterilized proboscises from laboratory-reared female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, researchers created reusable printer nozzles capable of printing layers as thin as 20 microns — about half the thickness achieved by many commercial printers.

Printed structures included:

• Honeycomb and leaf-shaped micro-patterns
• Bioscaffolds containing cancer cells and red blood cells
• Potential frameworks for tissue engineering and cell growth

The process, dubbed “3D necroprinting,” produces biodegradable nozzles that can be reused many times before disposal.

🌱 Why It Matters

This research highlights how nature-inspired engineering can lead to sustainable and affordable solutions in medicine and micro-manufacturing. While mosquitoes remain a serious public-health concern, their unique anatomy continues to inform scientific innovation — from painless needles to next-generation printing technologies.