In 3D gel shape transformation

Engineers at Rutgers-New Brunswick University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology invented the "smart 4D" gel-gelation method that could lead to the emergence of "living" structures in organs and human tissue, soft robot and drug delivery system .

Howon Lee, co-author of the study, said that the 4D printing method involves manipulating 3D objects with time-varying polymers as the temperature changes. The research, published in Scientific Reports online, demonstrates that high-resolution, fast-paced, high-resolution 3D prints of hydrogels, solid state retention and parachute maintenance they contain water. Hydrogels are present everywhere in life as in Jell-O, contact lenses, diapers and the human body.

Can harden the structure of organs such as the lungs and contain small molecules such as water or drugs to be transported and released within the body. Smart Gel also opens up a new field of soft robot fabrication and has new applications for flexible sensors and actuators, biomedical devices and cellular platforms or frameworks.

Scientists have studied the hydrogel used in decades in motion and biomedical applications. But hydrogel production is based on conventional 2D methods such as casting and lithography.

In the study, scientists used fast , low cost lithography and could print a wide variety of materials in 3D. Engineering involves printing special plastic layers to create 3D objects. This plastic consists of a hydrogel, a chemical that acts as a binder, another chemical that promotes binding when exposed to light and dye that controls light penetration.

The team studied how to accurately control the ability of the hydrogel to expand and contract. At temperatures below 32 ^° C, hydrogels absorb more water and expand in size. When the temperature exceeds 32 ^° C, the hydrogel begins to push out and contract. The objects created from the hydrogel have a length ranging from as much as a few millimeters. Engineers also find that the hydrogel has the potential to expand the field of 3D prints - creating and programming motion by changing the temperature.