The Perfect Biopolymer: An Interview with Akira Science on Biodegradable 3D Printable Materials

Category: Blog,IG Live Interview,Influencer Interviews

Jun 17, 2021

In this episode of Instagram Live recording, I had a lot of fun chatting with this international group of young entrepreneurs out of KTH from Akira Science ( @akirascience) in Sweden. We started the conversation on how the members of the team met. Then we moved onto the biopolymers the team is working on and commercializing, including why it is important to have controllable biodegradable biocompatible and 3D printable materials. We also touched upon the potential killer applications using the Akira biopolymer, including creating a scaffold for breast cancer lobectomy patients and wound healing. We also talked about the unique innovation and entrepreneurial environment in Sweden. You can find additional resources here: https://www.akirascience.com/

About our guests for this episode:

Tiziana Fuoco: Chief Operating Officer

I am currently a researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. I studied fundamental chemistry because I wanted to make myself well-grounded in basic science. I started with organic chemistry (Master’s degree in 2012) and later I moved to polymer chemistry (PhD degree in 2016). Polymers are the most fascinating materials. They are the base for many and advanced applications and serve as a platform for leading-edge manufacturing technologies, as 3D printing. As a chemist, my ambition is to solve design issues to contribute to the development of innovative polymeric materials and bridge the gap between Lab and real application.

Astrid Ahlinder: CEO

Astrid Ahlinder is the CEO of AKIRA Science AB, she has recently graduated with a PhD from KTH where she focused on 3D printing degradable polymers for soft tissue engineering. She has a background as a Biomedical engineer with focus on material sciences from University of Glasgow in Scotland but has done parts of her degree both in Lund, Sweden and at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. She is from the west coast of Sweden, when she is not working she enjoys spending time outdoors biking and hiking to explore new places.

Álvaro Morales López: Marketing Manager

I am currently conducting my Ph.D. focused on additive manufacturing of polymeric materials for bioprocessing at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and I am the VP Sales and Marketing of AKIRA Science. I discovered the promising field of 3D-printing and tissue engineering when I studied my Bachelor´s degree in Chemical Engineering in 2016 and then, I decided to start digging in this subject during my Master´s degree obtained in 2018 between Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain) and KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden). My curiosity for the relationship between material properties and 3D-printing technologies for biomedical applications moved my residence to Germany where I could work within the Research and Development Department of EnvisionTEC, one of the world-leading 3D-printing companies.