In 2011, Toby Brown, Paul Dalton and Dietmar Hutmacher pioneered melt electrowriting (MEW), a breakthrough in high-precision fiber fabrication. Their invention laid the foundation for a new era in biofabrication, enabling researchers to create intricate, tunable scaffolds that closely mimic natural tissue structures. The early years of MEW were marked by advancements in understanding this how this new tool can be used, and in 2012 showed that tubular MEW scaffolds could be used in bone tissue engineering and how fibroblasts infiltrate and generate ECM in these scaffolds in 2013.
As the technology matured, Dalton and Hutmacher took MEW from concept to application. In 2014, Dalton became the first Professor of Biofabrication in Germany, expanding the field’s academic presence and together with Toby Brown, set up the first MEW printer in Europe. By 2016, MEW had gained international traction, boosted by the launch of the International Master’s BIOFAB program—a collaborative degree between European and Australian institutions dedicated to training the next generation of biofabrication experts, many of whom became expert MEW users. As more talented MEW users worked with this technology, technical breakthroughs, such as hydrogel reinforcement by MEW fibers and the control of fiber pulsing, made MEW scaffolds even more versatile and reproducible.
MEW’s recognition in the global scientific community grew rapidly. In 2018, the first dedicated session on MEW was held at the International Society for Biofabrication, and the following year, another was hosted at TERMIS in Rhodes, Greece—a major milestone in integrating MEW into mainstream regenerative medicine and tissue engineering research. On the technical front, 2018 also saw the development of highly ordered large-volume scaffold architectures by Hutmacher, and by 2019, Dalton lab researchers had achieved controlled diameter changes within the MEW process, further refining its precision.
In 2021, Paul Dalton took another significant step by launching his lab at University of Oregon's Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, where he partnered with Ievgenii Liashenko to push MEW forward to industrial relevance. That same year, machine vision technology by Hutmacher and Dalton revealed a crucial relationship between fiber diameter and Taylor cone volume, improving the reproducibility of MEW-based scaffolds. Two years later, in 2023, Dalton and Liashenko partnered with A-dec, a leader in manufacturing and innovation, to fund the new venture and help bridge the gap between research and commercialization.
By 2024, MEW had evolved from a laboratory technique to a powerful tool for real-world applications. Paul and Ievgenii partnered with L’Oréal to publish groundbreaking research on a full-thickness skin model, proving MEW’s potential for high-fidelity in-vitro tissue engineering. This work solidified MEW’s ability to replicate human skin architecture with unmatched precision, paving the way for applications in cosmetic testing, regenerative medicine, and personalized therapies.
With years of technical refinement, academic leadership, and industry partnerships in place, 2025 marks the birth of VivoTex—a company dedicated to commercializing MEW for biomedical applications. Founded by Paul Dalton and Ievgenii Liashenko, and supported by A-dec and the University of Oregon’s Knight Campus, Vivotex aims to transform MEW from a pioneering research tool into a mainstay of regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and pharmaceutical testing.
From its inception as an experimental technique to its emergence as a revolutionary force in biomedical science, the journey of MEW and VivoTex is a testament to innovation, persistence, and a vision for a healthier future.
