Navigation Links
Smart, self-healing hydrogels open far-reaching possibilities in medicine, engineering
Date:3/5/2012

University of California, San Diego bioengineers have developed a self-healing hydrogel that binds in seconds, as easily as Velcro, and forms a bond strong enough to withstand repeated stretching. The material has numerous potential applications, including medical sutures, targeted drug delivery, industrial sealants and self-healing plastics, a team of UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering researchers reported March 5 in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Hydrogels are made of linked chains of polymer molecules that form a flexible, jello-like material similar to soft-tissues. Until now, researchers have been unable to develop hydrogels that can rapidly repair themselves when a cut was introduced, limiting their potential applications. The team, led by Shyni Varghese, overcame this challenge with the use of "dangling side chain" molecules that extend like fingers on a hand from the primary structure of the hydrogel network and enable them to grasp one another.

"Self-healing is one of the most fundamental properties of living tissues that allows them to sustain repeated damage," says Varghese. "Being bioengineers, one question that repeatedly appeared before us was if one could mimic self-healing in synthetic, tissue-like materials such as hydrogels. The benefits of creating such an aqueous self-healing material would be far-reaching in medicine and engineering."

To design the side chain molecules of the hydrogel that would enable rapid self-healing, Varghese and her collaborators performed computer simulations of the hydrogel network. The simulations revealed that the ability of the hydrogel to self-heal depended critically on the length of the side chain molecules, or fingers, and that hydrogels having an optimal length of side chain molecules exhibited the strongest self-healing. When two cylindrical pieces of gels featuring these optimized fingers were placed togethe
'/>"/>

Contact: Catherine Hockmuth
chockmuth@ucsd.edu
858-822-1359
University of California - San Diego
Source:Eurekalert  

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related biology technology :

1. Only the weak survive?: Pitt team adds more give for stronger self-healing materials
2. Hydrogels used to make precise new sensor
3. New Class of Stem Cell-Like Cells Discovered in Spinal Cord Offers Possibilities for Spinal Cord Repair
4. AllograftPossibilities.org Meets Unmet Need for Consumer-Oriented Information on Tissue Donation, Transplantation on the Internet
5. Defect in graphene may present bouquet of possibilities
6. Earthshaking possibilities may limit underground storage of carbon dioxide
7. NORTHWEST BIO Will Present at the Second Annual "Cancer Immunotherapy: A Long Awaited Reality Conference" at the New York Academy of Medicine, October 6, 2011
8. Rules-Based Medicine, Inc. (RBM) Partners with Institut Pasteur to Boost Innovation in Translational Research
9. Penn-led collaboration mimics library of bio-membranes for use in nanomedicine, drug delivery
10. Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biotechnology and Medicine, Genzyme Enter into Strategic Partnership
11. Harbinger Research Initiates Coverage on China Baicaotang Medicine, Ltd.
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
Smart, self-healing hydrogels open far-reaching possibilities in medicine, engineering 
(Date:5/23/2013)... MD (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 Can ... off from work motivate members of the public to ... researchers including Johns Hopkins Carey Business School ... emphatic yes. Pointing to a large body of recent ... in the May 24, 2013, issue of Science that ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... SCHOFIELD, Wis. , May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ ... a researcher, developer, and marketer of over-the-counter (OTC) ... re-issued its research opinion on the company based ... Highlights , Non-Prescription, All Natural Product ... Show the Product Outperforms #1 Prescription Competitor ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... 2013 PI’s new LPS-24 positioners ... 15 mm travel range with closed-loop sensor resolution ... make these new positioners the ideal choice for ... rated version is also available. , More ... can be found at: , http://www.physikinstrumente.com/en/products/prdetail.php?sortnr=1000745&prw-lps24 ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... , May 23, 2013 Virobay, Inc. ... for pain has reached an important milestone, as Virobay ... VBY-036 - a selective cathepsin S inhibitor.   ... a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study designed to evaluate the ... VBY-036 in healthy adults. "The initiation of ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Offering Economic Incentives to Attract Blood Donations Should Be Encouraged, Research Team writes in Science 2Offering Economic Incentives to Attract Blood Donations Should Be Encouraged, Research Team writes in Science 3PuraMed BioScience (PMBS) Issued Alert Based on Market Cap of $721,756 2PuraMed BioScience (PMBS) Issued Alert Based on Market Cap of $721,756 3Precision Positioning System Uses Miniaturezed Piezo Linear Motor: LPS-24 Linear Stage by PI 2Virobay, Inc. initiates a Phase 1 Trial of VBY-036, a compound intended for the treatment of neuropathic pain 2Virobay, Inc. initiates a Phase 1 Trial of VBY-036, a compound intended for the treatment of neuropathic pain 3
... Inc., a privately held company leading the development of ... J. Mazzo, PhD, President and CEO, will be presenting ... 10 a.m. EDT on April 4, 2012 at the ... The presentation will include an overview of the ...
... ever smaller and more powerful computer chips are in ... that accelerates this progress. Prof. Dr. Padma Kant Shukla ... in quantum plasmas. A negatively charged potential makes it ... structures within the plasma. In this way, current can ...
... aura of magic about it because it suddenly reveals what ... So, too, with photoacoustic tomography, which is allowing scientists to ... see what lies beneath. The technique achieves this depth ... the high contrast due to light absorption by colored molecules ...
Cached Biology Technology:Regado Biosciences, Inc. to Present at Needham & Company's 11th Annual Healthcare Conference in New York, NY 2Regado Biosciences, Inc. to Present at Needham & Company's 11th Annual Healthcare Conference in New York, NY 3When ions get closer 2New imaging technique moves from lab to clinic 2New imaging technique moves from lab to clinic 3New imaging technique moves from lab to clinic 4New imaging technique moves from lab to clinic 5
(Date:5/24/2013)... 500 leading water scientists from around the world today ... the short span of one or two generations, the ... be living under the handicap of severe pressure on ... there is no substitute. This handicap will be self-inflicted ... bluntly pointed to chronic underlying problems led by mismanagement ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... at Emory University, along with partners at the ... million grant over four years to establish the ... Research Center: Understanding Lifetime Exposures). The grant is ... United States. , The HERCULES Center is ... Sciences (NIEHS) of the National Institutes of Health ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... A new report from the Institute of Medicine ... in at least 60 minutes of vigorous or moderate ... than half of American youth meet current evidence-based guidelines ... intensity physical activity daily, according to the report, which ... school for nearly half of their waking hours, the ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):A majority on Earth face severe self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations: Scientists 2A majority on Earth face severe self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations: Scientists 3A majority on Earth face severe self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations: Scientists 4Emory, Georgia Tech receive first human exposome center grant in US 2Emory, Georgia Tech receive first human exposome center grant in US 3Schools should provide students with daily physical activity, IOM recommends 2
... published today in Nature Genetics shows that some rearrangements ... thought. The work is likely to lead to new ... diagnosis of genomic disease. The scientists from the ... in the genome where rearrangements cause genetic diseases, so-called ...
... whose skulls were made whole again by bone tissue ... Healing critical-size defects (defects that would not otherwise heal ... type that forms the skull, is a vivid demonstration ... University to use hESCs for tissue regeneration. ...
... Individuals with either current or past insomnia are more ... those who have never had the sleep disorder, according to ... journal SLEEP. The study, authored by Simon Beaulieu-Bonneau, MPs, ... Canada, focused on 953 adults between 18 and 83 years ...
Cached Biology News:Mutant sperm guide clinicians to new diseases 2Mutant sperm guide clinicians to new diseases 3Human embryonic stem cell -- derived bone tissue closes massive skull injury 2Journal Sleep: Insomniacs are more likely to report a family history of the sleep disorder 2
... ligase (AMP forming), Acetate thiokinase ... Physical form: Lyophilized powder containing ... glutathione Preparation Unit Definition: One ... coenzyme A from acetate, ATP and coenzyme ...
... This CLS number is a ... match Cornings product number. If showing ... the old Sigma-Aldrich number (Z71,487-9) or ... ID clarifier: centre neck 100 mm, ...
... Blasticidin is a nucleoside ... It is a potent ... prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. ... conferred by the products ...
... (Aph-1aL,S Loop 92-115), O2F1 Affinity Purified ... multiprotein complex consisting of presenilin, nicastrin, ... are necessary for full proteolytic activity. ... of a number of integral membrane ...
Biology Products: