Key Takeaways
1. Researchers developed a new polyurethane-based material that combines flexibility similar to human skin with high strength and shape memory features.
2. This innovative material exhibits impressive tensile strength of 1.42 GPa, surpassing that of spider silk, and has a fracture energy significantly greater than human skin.
3. The material mimics the woven structure of skin, specifically collagen and elastin, enhancing its suitability for medical applications.
4. It demonstrates a shape fixation rate of nearly 100% and a shape recovery rate of over 94%, making it ideal for complex medical devices.
5. The material can be 4D printed to create structures that return to their original shape at body temperature, potentially transforming bio-integrated systems.
For many years, researchers have been trying to create a single material that merges the soft and flexible nature of human skin with remarkable strength and advanced features like shape memory. This innovative material could be utilized to design intricate medical devices that can be inserted into the body through tiny cuts and then expand into their final, useful shape.
Innovative Material Development
The team of researchers found a solution by creating a new material based on polyurethane. They arranged various chemical components in a specific way to produce an elastomer that imitates the woven structure found in skin, specifically collagen and elastin. This newly developed material also shows impressive shape memory, achieving a shape fixation rate that’s almost perfect (~100%) and a shape recovery rate of over 94%.
Stronger Than Spider Silk
As stated in a publication dated June 13, this new material shows a true tensile strength of 1.42 gigapascals (GPa), which makes it stronger than spider silk, which has a strength of approximately 1.3 GPa. Additionally, it features a fracture energy of 384.7 ± 18.9 kJ/m², which is around 107 times more than human skin’s fracture energy of 3.6 kJ/m². This exceptional strength makes it highly resistant to tears and punctures.
Exciting Shape Memory Feature
The most fascinating aspect of PCL-AD-4 is its ability to remember shapes at body temperature. The researchers showed that complex structures made using 4D printing, such as stents or scaffolds for tissue, can be made or compressed into a temporary shape, and then will automatically return to their original, complex form when they are warmed to 37 °C (98.6 °F). With further development, PCL-AD-4 could play a key role in the next wave of bio-integrated systems.
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