Two commercially available 3-D-printable resins, which are marketed as being biocompatible for use in dental applications, readily leach compounds into their surroundings. These compounds can induce severe toxicity in the oocyte, the immature precursor of the egg which can eventually be fertilized, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study in mouse oocytes.

The research team made this unexpected discovery while validating the use of commercially available resins to 3-D print materials to culture reproductive cells.

“Our results are important because they demonstrate leachates from commonly used materials in 3-D printing slated as ‘biocompatible’ but may have adverse