Skip to main content
Clarkson University Logo
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Request Info
  • Give
  • Alumni
  • Parents
  • Intranet
  • About
    • President's Page
    • Board of Trustees
    • Administration
    • History & Facts
    • Accreditation
    • Accolades
    • The Clarkson Brand
    • Maps & Directions
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate Programs
    • Continuing & Professional Education
    • School of Arts & Sciences
    • Lewis School of Health Sciences
    • Reh School of Business
    • Coulter School of Engineering
    • Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries
    • Institute for a Sustainable Environment
    • Institute for STEM Education
    • Academic Affairs
    • Student Achievement Services
    • Academic Calendar
  • Admissions
    • First-Year Admissions, Undergraduate
    • Transfer Admissions, Undergraduate
    • International Admissions, Undergraduate
    • Early College Program: The Clarkson School
    • Graduate School Admissions
    • Financial Aid
    • Apply Now
  • Campus Life
    • Office of Student Life
    • Student Clubs & Activities
    • Living on Campus
    • Campus Dining
    • Clarkson Ignite
    • Career & International Experiences
    • Explore the Region
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • Student Health & Counseling
    • ROTC
    • Office of the Dean of Students
  • Research
  • Athletics
  • News
  • Search

CU • News & Events

Clarkson University Team Discovers New Way to Protect Against Sunburns

Release Date
Monday November 2, 2020
Allevi Bioink
Photo provided by Allevi Inc.

A small patch you wear on your body could be the next big thing when it comes to protecting your skin against UV light exposure. A team of researchers at Clarkson University have discovered a custom bioink that can be 3D printed into a skin safe UV sensor. This sensor could one day be used as a new safety tool against sunburns.

Silvana Andreescu, Professor and Egon Matijevic Endowed Chair of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science and members of her lab, graduate student Abraham Finny and undergraduate student Cindy Jiang, recently published their findings in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.0c12086).

Around 1.7 million new skin cancer cases are diagnosed each year in the United States as a result of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Most exposure to UV radiation is intermittent with varying levels. Due to this, Andreescu and her team saw the need for a technology that can provide detection in a timely manner at the time of exposure, but also be small, portable, and low-cost. Since the wearable technology would require contact with humans, the materials had to be biocompatible, and the device must be simple to use and portable.

“We decided to explore the capabilities of 3D bioprinting to manufacture these wearable UV-responsive sensors, as 3D printers have become inexpensive and accessible,” Andreescu said.

3D bioprinting has allowed researchers to produce biological structures such as organs, tissues, and scaffolds. The Clarkson team proposed the use of 3D bioprinting as an additive manufacturing technique to print wearable and functional sensors for consumer use. The method enabled the one-step fabrication of sensors that are reproducible, mechanically stable and ready to use.

“We combined gelatin and other materials, including titanium into a colorful, photoactive, printable ink. When the titanium is activated by UV light, like from the sun, the dye degrades and changes color, indicating exposure,” Andreescu said.

Aside from protecting your skin from damaging UV rays, the group says the sensors could also be applied to the field of UV sanitation. The sensor could be used to indicate if a piece of clothing or a tool was exposed to enough UV light to consider the object sanitized.

More details on this work can be found at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.0c12086 or https://www.allevi3d.com/uv-sensor-from-allevi-authors/

As a private, national research university, Clarkson is a leader in technological education and sustainable economic development through teaching, scholarship, research and innovation. We ignite personal connections across academic fields and industries to create the entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and intellectual curiosity needed to innovate world-relevant solutions and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. With its main campus located in Potsdam, N.Y., and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region, Beacon, N.Y., and New York City, Clarkson educates 4,600+ students across 95 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, the arts, education, sciences and health professions. Our alumni earn salaries that are among the top 2.5% in the nation and realize accelerated career growth. One in five already leads as a CEO, senior executive or owner of a company. To learn more about Clarkson University, go to www.clarkson.edu.


Photograph for media use is available at:
/sites/default/files/media/image/2020-11/bioink-allevi.jpg

Photograph Size:
Width: 994px
Height: 995px

News directors and editors: For more information, contact Melissa Lindell, Director of Media Relations, at 315-268-6716 or mlindell@clarkson.edu.

Schools at Clarkson

  • Graduate School
  • School of Arts & Sciences
  • David D. Reh School of Business
  • Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering
  • Earl R. and Barbara D. Lewis School of Health Sciences
  • Institute for a Sustainable Environment
  • Early College Program: The Clarkson School
  • Institute for STEM Education
  • Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries

Highlights of Excellence

  • Career Center
  • Honors Program
  • ROTC
  • Student Projects for Engineering Experience and Design (SPEED)
  • Student Success Center
  • Writing Center

Research & Innovation

  • Clarkson Center for Complex Systems Science (C3S2)
  • The Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP)
  • Center for Air and Aquatic Resources Engineering & Science (CAARES)
  • Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR)
  • The Center for Rehabilitation Engineering, Science & Technology (CREST)
  • NYS Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions
  • The Shipley Center for Innovation
  • Clarkson Ignite
  • University Libraries

Clarkson University

8 Clarkson Ave., Potsdam, New York 13699 315-268-6400
80 Nott Terrace, Schenectady, NY 12308 518-631-9831
199 Dennings Ave., Beacon, New York 12508 845-838-1600
Take a Virtual Tour

Organizational Chart
© 2023 by Clarkson University | Web Accessibility Assistance

  • Human Resources • Giving • Bookstore
  • CARES Act Reports & Consumer Information Disclosures (HEOA)
  • Act on Legal & Moral Concerns