Why 3D?

Nanofiber production technologies have reached a state where it is easy to scale materials in the plane (2D) to create large non-woven sheets. However, conventional technologies are inherently limited to this sheet-like form and cannot be used to create three-dimensional (3D) structures. This limits their use and application in several fields and hinders the materials from achieving their true potential.

Cellevate has a strong team of engineers and scientists with several years’ experience of material science, chemistry and nanotechnology. Together the team has been working with nanomaterial development since 2011. Over the last ten years we have gained extensive experience and know-how in how to work with different materials and fine-tune material parameters to create a wide range of network types. We believe this ability, while simultaneously having the capacity to produce the materials on an industrial scale, makes Cellevate truly unique and ready to embark on the bioproduction journey .

Our revolutionary nanotechnology-based platform, Cellevat3d™, is applicable across a range of markets

By removing the restrictions of the traditional non-woven formats, and taking nanofiber materials into the 3rd dimension, a range of novel applications are possible. The technology allows for the retainment of the nanofiber properties, e.g. incredibly high specific surface area (>5 m²/g), high porosity, and high customizability but unlocks true scalability. 

Cellevates Cellevat3d™ technology has potential applications in several well-established industries including:

• Automotive
• Construction
• Consumer
• Defence
• Electronics
• Energy
• Environment
• Health

Cellevate currently has a sole focus on applications in the life sciences where the technology is well suited for the emerging needs in biomanufacturing.

Technology deep dive

Electrospinning is a fiber production method which uses electric force to draw charged threads of polymer solutions or polymer melts up to fiber diameters in the order of some hundred nanometers.

When a sufficiently high voltage is applied to a liquid droplet, the body of the liquid becomes charged, and electrostatic repulsion counteracts the surface tension and the droplet is stretched; at a critical point a stream of liquid erupts from the surface. This point of eruption is known as the Taylor cone. If the molecular cohesion of the liquid is sufficiently high, stream breakup does not occur (if it does, droplets are electrosprayed) and a charged liquid jet is formed.

As the jet dries in flight, the mode of current flow changes from ohmic to convective as the charge migrates to the surface of the fiber. The jet is then elongated by a whipping process caused by electrostatic repulsion initiated at small bends in the fiber, until it is finally deposited on the grounded collector. The elongation and thinning of the fiber resulting from this bending instability leads to the formation of uniform fibers with nanometer-scale diameters.

The Cellevat3d™ platform adds onto the electrospinning process with a patent-pending technology that enables nanofibers to be handled in a liquid form. The fiber-containing liquid can then be molded into any given shape or form.