A beginner's guideline for low-cost 3D printing of macromolecules usable for teaching and demonstration.

Publisher: John Wiley & sons Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 100970605 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1539-3429 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14708175 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Biochem Mol Biol Educ Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2002- : Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & sons
Original Publication: Oxford, UK : Elsevier, c2000-

Biochemistry/*education ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional/*methods ; Insulin/*metabolism ; Macromolecular Substances/*metabolism ; Molecular Biology/*education ; Printing, Three-Dimensional/*instrumentation; Animals ; Insulin/chemistry ; Macromolecular Substances/chemistry ; Students/statistics & numerical data ; Swine

The structure and function of biomolecules relationship is the hallmark of biochemistry, molecular biology, and life sciences in general. Physical models of macromolecules give students the possibility to manipulate these structures in three dimensions, developing a sense of spatiality and a better understanding of key aspects such as atom size and shape, bond lengths and symmetry. Several molecular model systems were developed specifically to represent particular classes or groups of molecules and hence lack the flexibility of a universal solution. Three-dimensional printing could nevertheless provide such a universal solution, as it can be used to create physical models of biomolecular structures based on the teacher's or demonstrator's needs and requirements. Here, insulin was used as a model molecule and several depiction and printing parameters were tested in order to highlight the technical limitations of the approach. In the end, a set of settings that worked is provided which could serve as a starting point for anyone wishing to print his or her own custom macromolecular model on the cheap.
(© 2021 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.)

Meyer SC. 3D printing of protein models in an undergraduate laboratory: leucine zippers. J Chem Educ. 2015;92:2120-5.
Jones OAH, Spencer MJS. A simplified method for the 3D printing of molecular models for chemical education. J Chem Educ. 2018;95:88-96.
Harris MA, Peck RF, Colton S, Morris J, Neto EC, Kallio J. A combination of hand-held models and computer imaging programs helps students answer oral questions about molecular structure and function: a controlled investigation of student learning. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2009;8:29-43.
Larsson C, Tibell LAE. Challenging students' intuitions-the influence of a tangible model of virus assembly on students' conceptual reasoning about the process of self-assembly. Res Sci Educ. 2015;45:663-90.
Herman T, Morris J, Colton S, Batiza A, Patrick M, Franzen M, et al. Tactile teaching: exploring protein structure/function using physical models. Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2006;34:247-54.
Srivastava A. Building mental models by dissecting physical models. Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2016;44:7-11.
Scalfani VF, Vaid TP. 3D printed molecules and extended solid models for teaching symmetry and point groups. J Chem Educ. 2014;91:1174-80.
Molymod inorganic/organic student set: http://www.molymod.com/molymod_system.html (accessed 2021).
Berman H, Westbrook J, Feng Y, Gilliand G, Bhat T, Weissig H, et al. The Protein Data Bank. Nucleic Acids Res. 2000;28:235-42.
Rossi S, Benaglia M, Brenna D, Porta R, Orlandi M. Three dimensional (3D) printing: a straightforward, user-friendly protocol to convert virtual chemical models to real-life objects. J Chem Educ. 2015;92:1398-401.
Van Wieren K, Tailor HN, Scalfani VF, Merbouh N. Rapid access to multicolor three-dimensional printed chemistry and biochemistry models using visualization and three-dimensional printing software programs. J Chem Educ. 2017;94:964-9.
Da Veiga Beltrame E, Tyrwhitt-Drake J, Roy I, Shalaby R, Suckale J, Krummel DP. 3D printing of biomolecular models for research and pedagogy. J Vis Exp. 2017;121:55427.
Baker EN, Blundell TL, Cutfield JF, Cutfield SM, Dodson EJ, Dodson GG, et al. The structure of 2Zn pig insulin crystals at 1.5 Å resolution. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1988;319:369-456.
Teixeira da Rocha JB, Oliveira CS, Nogara PA, Schmitz GL. Insulin as a model to teach three-dimensional structure of proteins. Rev Ensino Bioquímica. 2018;15:114.
Pettersen EF, Goddard TD, Huang CC, Couch GS, Greenblatt DM, Meng EC, et al. UCSF Chimera-a visualization system for exploratory research and analysis. J Comput Chem. 2004;25:1605-12.

Keywords: 3D printing; general public; insulin; molecular models

0 (Insulin)
0 (Macromolecular Substances)

Date Created: 20210323 Date Completed: 20210927 Latest Revision: 20210927

20240513

10.1002/bmb.21493

33755300