The new Hydrogel can replace the spinal cord and make cartilage

Australian scientists have developed a new type of hydrogel that promises to replace the spinal cord and make synthetic cartilage in humans, and apply it to the production of soft robots.

Australian scientists have developed a new type of hydrogel that promises to replace the spinal cord and make synthetic cartilage in humans, and apply it to the production of soft robots.

Picture 1 of The new Hydrogel can replace the spinal cord and make cartilage

The new hydrogel promises to replace the spinal cord.

Scientists have combined two types of polymer, gellan gum and polyacrylamide, to produce a new material called covalent ion bond.

Although the physical properties of this glue can be increased by combining two polymer materials, these materials can only be deformed once by the covalent bonds that bind the molecules to be broken. break when the material is deformed.

To solve this problem, Australian scientists have developed a type of hydrogel that contains molecules bound together by ionic bonds. This new tough hydrogel material can recover from wide stretches or deformations many times, at human body temperature.

Hydrogels are soft and moist materials, with up to 95% of the water and molecules in the polymer frame.

Currently, Australian experts are testing the durability and toxicity of the new hydrogel for early application of cartilage, turning this material into a conductor to replace the spinal cord and use it in soft robot technology.

According to experts, hydrogel plays an increasingly important role in tissue culture in humans. This material is used in many products, from disposable diapers, contact lenses to body washes and sprays for burns.

However, this material is susceptible to loss of durability, so it is restricted to items that are not subject to mechanical stress.

Update 14 December 2018
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