Conductive PEDOT hydrogels peer reviewed research
3Dresyn CDP-WS and Fine Tuner FT2 used as the photocurable matrix for DLP-printed PEDOT:PSS conductive hydrogels — in peer-reviewed research and a doctoral thesis.
What the study and the thesis report, attributed to their authors, with a clear separation between the composite hydrogel results and the resin itself.
Application: long-term ECG/EMG bioelectrodes · POLYMAT–University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), in collaboration with 3Dresyns.
3Dresyn CDP-WS is a water-soluble, photopolymer resin. In the research summarised here it is used — together with the Fine Tuner FT2 ultrafast photoaccelerant — as the photocurable matrix that disperses PEDOT:PSS into a DLP-printable conductive ink.
The printed materials are flexible, shape-defined conductive hydrogels investigated as long-term bioelectrodes for electrocardiography (ECG) and electromyography (EMG). This work is reported in a 2022 peer-reviewed paper in ACS Applied Polymer Materials and documented in detail in the first author's doctoral thesis, which states that CDP-WS and FT2 were supplied by 3Dresyns.
Results below are attributed to their authors and are not first-party performance claims by 3Dresyns. Throughout, the electrical and mechanical values describe the composite PEDOT:PSS/PEGDA/CDP-WS hydrogels, not the neat CDP-WS resin.
The peer-reviewed study
DLP-printed PEDOT:PSS conductive hydrogels for biosensing
A 2022 study in ACS Applied Polymer Materials, led by groups at POLYMAT–University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in San Sebastián, developed short-cure (5 s) photopolymerizable conductive inks based on PEDOT:PSS dispersed in a photocurable matrix. The matrix combines a water-soluble commercial resin with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), ethylene glycol and an ultrafast photoaccelerant system. Processed by Digital Light 3D Printing (DLP), the inks yield flexible, shape-defined conductive hydrogels whose printing resolution increases with PEGDA molecular weight, and which were investigated as long-term ECG and EMG bioelectrodes against commercial Ag/AgCl medical electrodes.
Per the first author's thesis, the commercial water soluble resin and the curing additive in this matrix are 3Dresyn CDP-WS and the Fine Tuner FT2, supplied by 3Dresyns (see the primary-source detail below). Conductivity comes from the PEDOT:PSS; CDP-WS is the printable carrier, not a conductive material on its own.
This class of DLP-printed conducting-polymer-hydrogel inks is also surveyed in a 2025 Advanced Materials review (Tran et al.), included here as secondary field context.
Why CDP-WS as the matrix
Why researchers selected CDP-WS as the photocurable matrix
In this work CDP-WS was not used for ceramic loading, but as a convenient water-based photocurable carrier for an aqueous conductive ink. The properties that make it suitable for that role:
- Water-soluble. Enables an all-aqueous formulation and water-based processing and cleaning, compatible with a water-borne conductive dispersion.
- DLP-printable. Designed for vat photopolymerization (SLA/DLP/LCD) at high resolution, so the conductive ink can be shaped layer by layer.
- Compatible with aqueous PEDOT:PSS dispersions. Being water-soluble, it mixes homogeneously with the aqueous PEDOT:PSS to give a single printable ink.
- Rapid curing with Fine Tuner FT2. In the cited study, the formulation containing Fine Tuner FT2 enabled short (~5 s) cure times, even in a deeply light-absorbing ink such as PEDOT:PSS.
- Tunable with PEGDA. Adding poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate of different molecular weight lets the authors tune printing resolution, swelling and stiffness of the final hydrogel.
These points describe CDP-WS as a printable carrier. Electrical conductivity and the reported mechanical values are properties of the finished composite hydrogel, not of the neat resin.
Primary-source detail
Confirmed materials and formulation
The doctoral thesis provides the primary experimental evidence linking the published conductive hydrogel formulation to 3Dresyn CDP-WS and Fine Tuner FT2.
The first author's doctoral thesis — Multifunctional and 3D printable PEDOT-based materials for bioelectronics (University of the Basque Country, 2024) — provides the full experimental detail. Its materials section states that 3Dresyn CDP-WS (water-soluble) and the Fine Tuner FT2 ultrafast photoaccelerant were supplied by 3Dresyns, with PEDOT:PSS and PEGDA / ethylene glycol.
The reported conductive ink is prepared by mixing PEDOT:PSS aqueous solution (50 wt%) with 3Dresyn CDP-WS (34 wt%), Fine Tuner FT2 (4 wt%), ethylene glycol (4 wt%) and PEGDA (8 wt%) of different molecular weight.
The thesis acknowledges Dr. Juan Segurola (representative of 3Dresyns, Barcelona) for advice, and describes the work as carried out in collaboration with 3Dresyns. Reported as collaboration and acknowledgement by the author — not as a performance claim by 3Dresyns.
What was reported
Formulation and key reported results
| Item | As reported by the authors |
|---|---|
| Photocurable matrix | 3Dresyn CDP-WS (water-soluble resin) + PEGDA + ethylene glycol + Fine Tuner FT2 photoaccelerant |
| Conductive phase | PEDOT:PSS, dispersed in the matrix; conductivity originates here |
| Process | Digital Light 3D Printing (DLP); short ~5 s cure; printing resolution increases with PEGDA molecular weight |
| Electrical conductivity | ~10-3–10-2 S/cm for the printed hydrogels; ethylene-glycol doping raised it about 3-fold |
| Mechanical (dry) | Young's modulus ~2.7 MPa (highest PEGDA Mn) up to ~38 MPa (lowest PEGDA Mn); elongation at break 18–35% |
| Mechanical (swollen) | ~2–3 MPa, comparable to the reported stiffness of forearm skin (~1 MPa) |
| Application | Long-term ECG and EMG bioelectrodes, compared with commercial Ag/AgCl electrodes |
Firewall: every value above is a property of the printed composite PEDOT:PSS/PEGDA/CDP-WS hydrogel, not of the neat CDP-WS resin. CDP-WS contributes the printable, water-soluble matrix; the PEDOT:PSS provides electrical conductivity.
Engineering insight
The resin is the printable carrier, not the conductor
This case is a clean example of a 3Dresyns resin used cross-application: CDP-WS, a water-soluble photopolymer from the ceramic-direct-printing family, serves here as the aqueous photocurable matrix that disperses PEDOT:PSS and, with the fast-curing Fine Tuner FT2, makes the ink DLP-printable in short exposures. The conductivity, swelling and mechanical behaviour are emergent properties of the whole formulation — PEDOT:PSS content, PEGDA molecular weight, ethylene-glycol doping and curing — rather than of any single component.
In conductive printable inks, the resin matrix governs printability and mechanics; the functional filler (here PEDOT:PSS) governs conductivity. Final performance belongs to the composite and the process, not to the neat resin.
Applications
Applications of DLP-printed conductive hydrogels
DLP-printable conducting-polymer hydrogels of this type are being explored across bioelectronics and soft electronics, including:
- Bioelectrodes — the application demonstrated in the cited work, as long-term ECG and EMG skin electrodes.
- Biosensors — the cited 2022 study frames these inks explicitly for biosensing.
- Tissue-engineering interfaces — the focus of the cited 2025 review on electrostimulation-assisted tissue engineering.
- Soft electronics — flexible, skin-compliant conductive structures.
- Wearable electronics — body-worn sensing and signal recording.
The specific, verified demonstration with 3Dresyn CDP-WS + Fine Tuner FT2 is ECG/EMG bioelectrodes. The broader list reflects the application space discussed for this class of materials in the cited literature, not separate first-party claims.
Related products
What the study used — and a related conductive option
The verified study used 3Dresyn CDP-WS as the matrix together with Fine Tuner FT2. For applications that need a ready-made conductive resin, 3Dresyns also offers PEDOTEK1.
Frequently asked questions
What role does 3Dresyn CDP-WS play in these conductive inks?
It is the water-soluble, photocurable matrix that disperses the PEDOT:PSS and, with PEGDA, ethylene glycol and the Fine Tuner FT2 system, forms a DLP-printable conductive ink. The conductivity comes from the PEDOT:PSS; CDP-WS is the printable carrier, not a conductive material on its own.
Are the conductivity and mechanical values properties of CDP-WS?
No. The reported conductivity (~10-3–10-2 S/cm), Young's modulus (~2.7 MPa up to ~38 MPa dry, 2–3 MPa swollen) and elongation (18–35%) describe the printed composite PEDOT:PSS/PEGDA/CDP-WS hydrogels, not the neat resin.
Which 3Dresyns materials were used, and how is that confirmed?
The first author's doctoral thesis states that 3Dresyn CDP-WS and the Fine Tuner FT2 ultrafast photoaccelerant were supplied by 3Dresyns, alongside PEDOT:PSS and PEGDA / ethylene glycol (Sigma-Aldrich). The thesis also acknowledges Dr. Juan Segurola (3Dresyns / Resyner Technologies) and describes the work as a collaboration with 3Dresyns.
Are these materials finished medical devices?
No. They are supplied as professional manufacturing materials and are not marketed as finished medical devices. Validation and regulatory classification of any final device, including skin-contact bioelectrodes, remain the responsibility of the legal manufacturer under Regulation (EU) 2017/745.
Research materials
Research materials for conductive hydrogel 3D printing
3Dresyn CDP-WS and Fine Tuner FT2 are the materials behind the conductive hydrogel 3D printing work summarised on this page. Used as a water-soluble photocurable matrix, CDP-WS lets researchers formulate DLP conductive inks in which PEDOT:PSS provides the electrical conductivity, while the Fine Tuner FT2 system supports fast curing. The resulting photocurable conductive hydrogels are printed by Digital Light Processing into flexible, shape-defined parts and were studied as bioelectronics materials — specifically ECG and EMG bioelectrodes. For groups developing PEDOT:PSS printable formulations or other conductive printable hydrogels, CDP-WS offers a water-based, tunable carrier compatible with aqueous conductive dispersions. The product and resource links below correspond to the materials used in the cited research; performance of any final formulation depends on its composition and process.
Get the materials
The photocurable matrix used in the verified study — 3Dresyn CDP-WS plus Fine Tuner FT2 — together with the technical resources to print with it.
3Dresyns materials are supplied as professional manufacturing materials and are not marketed as finished medical devices. The regulatory classification, conformity assessment and validation of any final device manufactured using these materials remain the sole responsibility of the legal manufacturer.
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