Résumé
•3D direct laser writing (3D DLW) based on two-photon polymerization has emerged as a very popular 3D micro-fabrication method. It can be seen as an extension of the 3D printer at the micro and nanoscale. Moreover, this technology has proven its unrivaled ability to sculpt matter at the nanoscale. •In the frame of this communication, we developed photo-sensitive resists based on star-shaped PEG-Polyester as a potential degradable biomaterial for 3D DLW. These pho-to-functional star block copolymers were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization of lactones followed by meth-acrylation of polyester chain end-OH groups. We synthe-sized a family of copolymers based on various PLA stereo copolymers, PCL and PCLLA, fully characterized chemi-cally and mechanically. Finally, the ability to print them via (digital light processing) DLP or DLW was evaluated. •Analyses and printing experiments demonstrate that these amphiphilic star-shaped copolymers show several key characteristics, such as viscosity suitable for 3D printing, adjustable mechanical properties, crosslinking capabilities, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Moreover, methac-rylated PEG-PLA copolymers were successfully used for DLP fabrication to prepare hydration-driven actuators. First DLW experiments with this copolymer demonstrate its po-tential although some challenges remain for high resolu-tion 3D DLW.•Our results demonstrate that this family of degradable pho-to-polymers holds promises for 3D DLW and future inves-tigations will focus on comparing their reactivity (determi-nation of the energy threshold, kinetics of photopolymeri-zation), evaluate the quality of structuration (resolu-tion/feature size), and ultimately evaluate the mechanical properties (mechanical properties, degradability) of the dif-ferent printed materials.•Overall, the communication shows a new class of photo-sensitive resists potentially suitable for 3D micro-structuration of biocompatible and biodegradable materials, which could be used in biomedical applications.