The researchers used smart shape-memory polymers (SMPS) with the ability to remember one shape
ALLOVER TEMPERATURE The research creates self-folding structures from 3d printed patterns containing varying amounts of different smart shape-memory polymers.
These examples all require the precise control of the folding sequence of different parts of the structure to avoid collisions of the components during folding. e have exploited the ability to 3d-print smart polymers
which were made from varying ratios of two different commercially available shape-memory polymers. A simplified reduced-order model was developed also to rapidly
Using sugar, silicone, and a 3d printer, bioengineers and surgeons have created an implant with an intricate network of blood vessels.
leaving behind a network of small channels in the silicone. hey don yet look like the blood vessels found in organs,
Ribo-T may be able to be tuned to produce unique and functional polymers for exploring ribosome functions
or producing designer therapeuticsnd, eventually perhaps even non-biological polymers. No one has developed ever something of this nature. e felt like there was a smallery smallhance Ribo-T could work,
The OSU study (CD toxinroduced actin oligomers poison formin-controlled actin polymerization which is published in Science,
a monomer, or a single molecule, and a filament, which is a strand of those molecules strung together.
all packed within a flexible, polymer-coated pouch. And unlike lithium-ion batteries which can short circuit
Polymers like hydrogels carry large amounts of water within their structure which gives them the capacity to respond to variations in environmental factors such as acidity,
the team created an L-shaped polymer and changed the temperature repeatedly to observe its response.
The nanosheets were fixed then in place using a process called light-triggered in-situ vinyl polymerization where the light helped to stick them together within the polymer.
The nanosheets create electrostatic resistance in one direction, but not the other. The polymer"legs"not only lengthened
and contracted at pace, allowing it to move forward, but its overall volume also remained the same.
The L-shaped polymer can walk indefinitely, Ishida says, as long as the heating and cooling cycle is repeated.
The meshes are made from a flexible polymer called POMAC (which is short for this mouthful:"
and bend the polymer meshes.""And when we apply electrical field stimulation, we see that they beat in synchrony."
and Johns hopkins university collaborated on a ground-breaking procedure to produce a 3d printed silicone support structure that is implanted into living tissue to guide
which then produced the silicone nerve guide. The sciatic nerve in the rat was severed then, and the guide was implanted surgically into the rat by grafting it to the sliced ends of the nerve.
The short video below shows the 3d printing process used for the production of the silicone guides u
"The biodegradable polymer is reinforced with montmorillonite clay nanoparticles (we've seen nanoparticles used in other ways to heal bones) for strength,
what some scientists are calling iofuelbecause the organic chemicals from plastic polymers she extracts, are the same chemicals extracted from vegetation to create ethanol biofuel.
the researchers used a custom-built 3d printer to make silicone guides for nerve regeneration. These 3d printed nerve pathways were embedded with biochemical cues to promote growth.
and copper supported by silicone. Most of the sensor bulk comes from a 40-micrometer-thick layer of silicone.
Each of the other layers has a thickness of just tens or hundreds of nanometers.
The fibers are bathed then in a polymer that arranges them into a latticelike structure. Then
The polymer burns away and leaves behind a strong, light lattice that is later filled with liquid silicon to create a solid structure.
The researchers, from the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and Konkuk Univ. in the Republic of korea, coated cotton and polyester yarn with a nanoglue called bovine serum albumin (BSA.
including a small polymer panel that literally goes"poof,"changing from a solid into a gas.
The team demonstrated their tractor beam using tiny balls of polystyrene the same material used in packing peanuts.
"The team currently levitates lightweight polystyrene balls that measure up to 0. 2 inches (5 millimeters) across.
The nanoparticles are made of biodegradable polymers called poly (ß-amino esters)( PBAES) and in lab tests were able to pass through mucus taken from real patients.
The Velox valve works with different size mitral annuli and consists of the standard pericardial leaflets on top of a polymer coated nitinol self-expanding structure.
and the University of North carolina at Chapel hill have designed a novel drug release technology that relies on a stretchable elastomer
The patches consist of an elastomer that has tiny capsules throughout its surface each filled with drug loaded nanoparticles.
This pressure comes from stretching of the elastomer film, which in turn stretches the capsules and compresses them to release the drugs.
as they are normally either purely organic, for example in solar cell conducting polymers, or entirely inorganic, such as oxide or metallic glasses.
or polymer layers on it. The biosensing sensitivity depends on the properties of chip surface. Higher binding capacity for biomolecules increases the signal levels and accuracy of analysis. The last several years
The technique was demonstrated with polystyrene particles i
#An important step in artificial intelligence: Researchers in UCSB's Department of Electrical and Computer engineering are seeking to make computer brains smarter by making them more like our own Abstract:
or into flexible chains through soft molecular linkers such as surface-grafted DNA or polymers. Here, we show that capillarity-mediated binding between magnetic nanoparticles coated with a liquid lipid shell can be used for the assembly of ultraflexible microfilaments and network structures.
and nanostructures to naturally occurring biological polymers, tissues and plant cells. The first application as part of DOE's Bioenergy Science Center was in the examination of plant cell walls under several treatments to provide submicron characterization.
They have managed also to use the polymer to build an L-shaped object that slowly walks forward as the temperature is raised repeatedly and lowered.
Hydrogels are polymers that can maintain large quantities of water within their networks. Because of this, they can swell
and then fixed them in place using a procedure called light-triggered in-situ vinyl polymerization, which essentially uses light to congeal a substance into a hydrogel.
The nanosheets ended up stuck within the polymer, aligned in a single plane. Due to electrostatic forces, the sheets create electrostatic resistance in one direction but not in the other.
which we calculated to be 32 degrees Celsius, the polymer rapidly changed shape, stretching in length.
As a demonstration of how the polymer could be put to practical use, the group designed an L-shaped piece of polymer that can actually walk, in a water environment,
as the legs lengthen and contract in response to changing temperature. The group now plans to conduct further studies to create substances that can be used in practical applications.
biocompatible polymer film made out of polyvinylidene fluoride, or PVDF. To improve the material's energy harvesting ability, they added DNA,
For energy devices we have demonstrated solution-processable approaches to fabricate organic photovoltaic devices on nearly arbitrary surfaces including PET and polymer reinforced polymer composites.
The presentation will also discuss the development of silver inks as an interconnect material for flexible Si CMOS ICS on elastomers.
'which are based on metals, polymers and organic materials, to tie the system together electronically. With our technology, we can take a razor-thin silicon integrated circuit, a few hundred nanometers thick,
Enclosed within the platelet membranes are made nanoparticle cores of a biodegradable polymer that can be metabolized safely by the body.
The nanoparticles can be packed with many small drug molecules that diffuse out of the polymer core and through the platelet membrane onto their targets.
The work, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pairs gold nanomesh with a stretchable substrate made with polydimethylsiloxane, or PDMS.
industrial-quality metal deposited on polymer sheets. First, an electronic mechanical cutter is used to form patterns on the metal-polymer sheets.
Second, after removing excessive areas, the electronics are printed onto any polymer adhesives, including temporary tattoo films.
The cutter is programmable so the size of the patch and pattern can be customized easily.
for example in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells, which are the leading contenders for small-scale and mobile power generation not based on batteries or combustion engines.
in order to facilitate downstream polymer production. The current industrial catalyst for butadiene hydrogenation uses palladium and silver.
The researchers make the film by first using a nanolithography developed in Chang's lab to create highly-ordered pores in a polymer substrate.
That porous polymer then serves as a template, which the researchers coats with a thin layer of aluminum oxide using atomic layer deposition.
The polymer is burned then off leaving behind a three-dimensional aluminum oxide coating.""We are able to control the thickness of the aluminum oxide,
According to the researchers, the aim of the research was to prepare an injectable paste made of bioglass and sodium alginate polymer with biocompatibility properties.
Its flexibility was imparted by embedding the silicon bars into a flexible layer of silicone. As the silicone was bent
or flexed, the period of the grating spacings responded in kind. The semiconductor material also allowed the team to create a skin that was incredibly thin, perfectly flat,
The team demonstrated efficient optical coupling of an array of silicon waveguides to a substrate containing an array of polymer waveguides.
The significant size difference between the silicon waveguides and the polymer waveguides originally presented a major challenge.
The researchers overcame this obstacle by gradually tapering the silicon waveguide, leading to an efficient transfer of the optical signal to the polymer waveguide.
including elastomers, silicones, nylon-like materials, ceramics and biodegradable materials. The technique itself provides a blueprint for synthesizing novel materials that can further research in materials science.
"Now Gorodetsky has fabricated reflectin films on conformable polymer substrates, effectively sticky tape one might find in any household.
than a sensor made with the most advanced man-made water-absorbing polymers. There was also better sensitivity in extreme low-pressure, low-humidity situations."
Today reverse-osmosis filters are typically polymers. A filter is thin and resides on a support.
A porous graphene membrane could be more permeable than a polymer membrane, so separated water would drive faster through the membrane under the same conditions, the scientists reasoned."
#Soft, energy-efficient robotic wings Dielectric elastomers are novel materials for making actuators or motors with soft and lightweight properties that can undergo large active deformations with high-energy conversion efficiencies.
This has made dielectric elastomers popular for creating devices such as robotic hands, soft robots, tunable lenses and pneumatic valves--and possibly flapping robotic wings.
Reporting this week in the journal Applied Physics Letters("Phenomena of nonlinear oscillation and special resonance of a dielectric elastomer minimum energy structure rotary joint"),researchers from the Harbin Institute of technology in Weihai, China
Los angeles (UCLA), have discovered a new resonance phenomenon in a dielectric elastomer rotary joint that can make the artificial joint bend up and down,
Jianwen Zhao/Harbin Institute of technology in Weihai, University of California-Los angeles)" The dielectric elastomer is a kind of electro-active polymer that can deform
He said that most studies on dielectric elastomers are using a static or stable voltage to stimulate the joint motion,
"Zhao said this new phenomenon makes the dielectric elastomer joint a good candidate for creating a soft and lightweight flapping wing for robotic birds,
which would be more efficient than bird wings based on electrical motors due to the higher energy conversion efficiency (60 to 90 percent) of the dielectric elastomer.
Dielectric elastomers, due to their soft and lightweight inherent properties and superior electromechanical performances, are considered as a kind of material close to human muscles
Made by sandwiching a soft insulating elastomer film between two compliant electrodes, dielectric elastomers can be squeezed
and expanded in a plane when a voltage is applied between electrodes. In contrast to actuators based on rigid materials such as silicon, dielectric elastomers can reach a very large extent of stretch, often exceeding 100 percent elongation while not breaking,
enabling new possibilities in many fields including soft robotics, tunable optics, and cell manipulation. The dielectric elastomer actuator Zhao used is called a"dielectric elastomer minimum-energy structure"
which is composed of a thin elastic frame and pre-stretched dielectric elastomer films, Zhao said. After adhering the pre-stretched film to the thin elastic frame,
the restoring force of the dielectric elastomer film bends the elastic frame, balancing at a minimum energy state.
When applying kilovolts of low-current electricity on the dielectric elastomer, the frame flattens out and the bending angle decreases.
To restrict frame bending to only one axis, two stiffening frames are mounted to the primary frame as rigid nonbending edges,
which makes dielectric elastomer minimum-energy structures a useful structure for fabricating soft devices, Zhao said.
After experimenting with various parameters such as voltage values, frequencies and the joint mass in the dielectric elastomer joint system,
Also, since dielectric elastomers feature high energy density (seventy times higher than conventional electromagnetic actuators) and high-energy conversion efficiency (60 to 90 percent), they could be good candidates for making energy-efficient devices,
The researchers'next step is to improve the function of the dielectric elastomer rotary joint and refine the fabrication technique to make a real flapping wing g
when moved from water to an electrolyte solution, such as salt water("Dual hydrophilic and salt responsive schizophrenic block copolymers synthesis and study of self-assembly behavior").
Materials composed of segments of two different monomers, each with different characteristics, are known as block copolymers.
Vivek Vasantha at A*STAR Institute of Chemical and Engineering sciences together with scientists from across Singapore under the Innovative Marine Antifouling Solutions (IMAS) program developed a new block copolymer that can self-assemble into spherical micelle structures in
which one monomer forms the core and the other forms the outer shell. The monomers are the hydrophilic poly (ethylene glycol
or PEG, which mixes well with water, and the halophilic polysulfabetaine (PSB), which has a preference for salt solution. e created salt-responsive block copolymers that self-assemble in water to form either onventionalor nversemicelles, states Vasantha.
The conventional micelles form in deionized water and have a core of halophilic PSB with a hydrophilic PEG shell.
However, the team showed that the micelles reassemble themselves when immersed in salt solution; PEG formed the core,
The researchers mixed the block copolymers with primer to create a nontoxic coating to replace traditional antifouling paint.
They constructed the outer layer out of cationicor positively chargedsegments of the polymers. For inside the carrier, they secured the drug with hydrophobic and ph-responsive polymers.
The positively charged outer layer of the carrier is able to stay in place at the surface of the teeth
Polycarbonate skeleton of robot, testing apparatus, fully blown membrane (last two pix. click on image to enlarge) This ground-breaking research was published in Bioinspiration
The end result is a polycarbonate 3d printed streamlined skeleton which had no moving parts (Fig. 1) and no energy storage device other than a thin elastic outer membrane.
If you put polymer chains on the surface that are attracted to the solvent, the particles will bounce off each other
shape and size of the polymers. Based on these findings, the team developed a new photolithographic technology that enabled the production of micropatterns with three-dimensional structures in various shapes and sizes.
and thus control the shape and size of the polymer. The use of the polymerization inhibitors enabled
and facilitated the fabrication of complex, three-dimensional micropatterns. Professor Kim said, hile 3d printing is considered an innovative manufacturing technology,
His newest technology will enhance the manufacturing process of three-dimensional polymers which were considered difficult to be commercialized.
ACS (click on image to enlarge) The researchers investigated the polymer xylan which comprises a third of wood matter.
"Using advanced NMR techniques we found that the xylan polymer, which comprises about a third of wood,
Background Small-molecule versus polymer FETS The main issues around organic semiconductor FETS with small molecules are the low thermal durability.
Attempts to use polymers with benzene-like delocalised electron bonding alleviated issues around the thermal durability to a certain extent.
such as reproducible synthesis and purification of the polymers, as well as control of crystallinity and the molecular orientations towards both the substrate surface and the electrodes.
Bhushan and postdoctoral researcher Philip Brown chose to cover a bumpy surface with a polymer embedded with molecules of surfactant--the stuff that gives cleaning power to soap and detergent.
and layered the polymer and surfactant on top. The silica surfactant, polymer, and stainless steel are all nontoxic
and relatively inexpensive, said Brown. He estimated that a larger mesh net could be created for less than a dollar per square foot.
They have developed touch-sensitive stickers made from flexible silicone and electrically conducting sensors that can be worn on the skin.
The silicone used to fabricate the sensor patches makes them flexible and stretchable. his makes them easier to use in an everyday environment.
and filled with an electro-optical polymer, and sidewalls made of gold which, at the same time, act as electrodes.
The electro-optical polymer changes its index of refraction as a function of the voltage. The waveguide and the coupler made of silicon route the two parts of a split light beam to the gaps or from the gaps.
The voltage applied to the polymer modulates the surface waves. Modulation is different in both gaps but coherent,
an ARC Australian Laureate Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular engineering at the University of Melbourne, was published today in Advanced Materials("Multifunctional Thrombin-Activatable Polymer Capsules for Specific Targeting to Activated Platelets").
"We can now study the atomic details of microtubule polymerization and depolymerization to develop a complete description of microtubule dynamics,
and Andrew Alleyne (Mechse)--embedded QDS in novel polymer materials that retain strong quantum efficiency.
They then used electrohydrodynamic jet (e-jet) printing technology to precisely print the QD-embedded polymers onto photonic crystal structures.
#Water heals a bioplastic (w/video) A drop of water self-heals a multiphase polymer derived from the genetic code of squid ring teeth,
The polymer can then either be molded using heat or cast by solvent evaporation. The two-part material is a copolymer consisting of an amorphous segment that is soft and a more structured molecular architecture.
The structured portion consists of strands of amino acids connected by hydrogen bonds to form a twisted and/or pleated sheet.
This part also provides strength for the polymer, but the amorphous segment provides the self-healing.
The polymer can either be molded using heat or cast by solvent evaporation. Video: Demirel Lab/Penn State) The researchers created a dog-bone shaped sample of the polymer
and then cut it in half. Using warm water at about 113 degrees Fahrenheit--slightly warmer than body temperature--and a slight amount of pressure with a metal tool,
In our case the gum wall is a biodegradable polymer that protects the liquid center:
Besides being composed of a biodegradable polymer, it becomes a lactic acid and can easily be discarded.""We tested it in orange, strawberry and watermelon juice at 70 and 90 Degree celsius,
and 3d printing techniques to create a custom silicone guide implanted with biochemical cues to help nerve regeneration.
The study appears September 21 in Nature Materials("Sequence Heuristics To Encode Phase Behaviour In Intrinsically Disordered Protein Polymers"."
and biocompatible metal electrodes"),pairs gold nanomesh with a stretchable substrate made with polydimethylsiloxane, or PDMS.
or polymer layers on it. The biosensing sensitivity depends on the properties of chip surface. Higher binding capacity for biomolecules increases the signal levels and accuracy of analysis. The last several years
It is made of a silicon-based polymer, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and has microvalves and fluidic channels to transport the sample between nodes for various sample preparation steps.
industrial-quality metal deposited on polymer sheets. First, an electronic mechanical cutter is used to form patterns on the metal-polymer sheets.
Second, after removing excessive areas, the electronics are printed onto any polymer adhesives, including temporary tattoo films.
The cutter is programmable so the size of the patch and pattern can be customized easily.
Free radicals are produced during the fire cycle as a polymer degrades, and their removal is critical to stopping the fire from continuing to spread.
which blocks fire's access to its fuel source--the polymer. The synergistic combination of both these processes makes polydopamine an attractive and powerful flame retardant.
which are synthetic polymers closely related to protein-forming peptides. The design rule controls the way in
which polymers adjoin to form the backbones that run the length of nanosheets. Surprisingly, these molecules link together in a counter-rotating pattern not seen in nature.
and the polymers that make up these backbones are joined all together using the same rule. Each adjacent polymer rotates incrementally in the same direction,
so that a twist runs along the backbone. This rule doesn apply to peptoid nanosheets. Along their backbones, adjacent monomer units rotate in opposite directions.
These counter-rotations cancel each other out, resulting in a linear and untwisted backbone. This enables backbones to be tiled in two dimensions
("Metal/Polymer Based Stretchable Antenna for Constant Frequency Far-Field Communication in Wearable Electronics"."The paper will be the front cover article of the print edition.
"We fabricated our antenna using a metal/polymer bilayer process the resulting structure combines the conductivity of the metal
and the elasticity of the polymer and the stretchability is imparted using a lateral spring structure,
"The key reason the antenna needed to be fabricated as a metal/polymer bilayer is that standalone metal thin films are very malleable,
The solution to this problem was to use a polymer backing that provides the restoration force
"The researchers, from the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and Konkuk University in the Republic of korea, coated cotton and polyester yarn with a nanoglue called bovine serum albumin (BSA.
#Researchers create transplantation model for 3-D printed constructs Using sugar, silicone and a 3-D printer,
After the gel cured, Miller's team dissolved the sugar, leaving behind a network of small channels in the silicone."
Then they seeped a polymer between the silicon nanowire pillars. After the plastic support solidified they etched away the silicon backing, leaving bull's-eye patterned black silicon embedded in supple plastic.
Arrays of lenses formed within a flexible polymer bend and stretch into different configurations. And the researchers can freely reconfigure the shape of the lens array,
Then they seeped a polymer between the silicon nanowire pillars. After the plastic support solidified, they etched away the silicon backing, leaving bull's-eye patterned black silicon embedded in supple plastic.
and buckling of graphene on a thermally activated, shrinking polymer substrate. This process enables precise control and optimization of the size and spacing of integrated Au nanoparticles on crumpled graphene for higher SERS enhancement."
and even polymer fibers stretch typically only 20-25 percent, Park noted. That is a limiting factor in a device such as a hand, where a wide range of motion is essential.
as the silicone is stretched, cracks develop in the reflective layer, allowing light to escape. By measuring the loss of light,
Over time, the polymer mesh breaks down harmlessly. After growing on the special mesh for just four days,
is made of an acrylic acid polymer. It works like a scaffold, allowing the printing of intricate patterns that would collapse without its support such as nested Russian-doll-like structures and thin
The researchers can also use silicone, hydrogel and other polymers, and made a replica of a colleague brain in the soft,
The film is made of a photoreactive polymer that responds to both the intensity and the polarization of the light.
The metamaterial consists of low-aspect-ratio silicon pillar arrays embedded in a polymer matrix and clad by gold films.
and a widely used polymer called polyethylene glycol, or PEG. Its light emission can be tailored to reflect very subtle changes in the environment,
and even polymer fibers stretch typically only 20 to 25 percent, Park said. That is a limiting factor in a device such as a hand
as the silicone is stretched, cracks develop in the reflective layer, allowing light to escape. By measuring the loss of light,
Instead of running on liquid propellant, the pumps are powered by electric motors with lithium polymer batteries. This eliminates the need for extra spaghetti tubes and valves,
They are coated in a thin layer of silicone, so they are flexible and can stick to the skin like temporary tattoos.
COFS are highly crystalline, porous polymers in which certain parent molecules form highly regular, two-or three-dimensional network structures.
These network polymers possess suitable optical and electronic properties as well as a relatively large surface area, which in essence make them interesting candidates for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.
the scientists had to add platinum nanoparticles and an electron donor to their powder polymer."
which consisted of one polystyrene lens and two polymethyl methacrylate aspheric lenses, the researchers used a single-point diamond turning lathe.
Usually, the thin filmssed by organic bulk heterojunction solar cellsre created by mixing conjugated polymers and fullerenes,
#Researchers create transplantation model for 3-D printed constructs Using sugar, silicone and a 3-D printer,
leaving behind a network of small channels in the silicone. hey don yet look like the blood vessels found in organs,
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