Self-healing materials with microvascular networks

Trigger chemistries for better industrial formulations

In recent years, innovations and consumer demands have led to increasingly complex liquid formulations. These growing complexities have provided industrial players and their customers access to new markets through product differentiation, improved performance, and compatibility/stability with other products. One strategy for enabling more complex formulations is the use of active encapsulation. When encapsulation is employed, strategies are required to effect the release of the active at the desired location and time of action. One particular route that has received significant academic research effort is the employment of triggers to induce active release upon a specific stimulus, though little has translated for industrial use to date. To address emerging industrial formulation needs, in this review, we discuss areas of trigger release chemistries and their applications specifically as relevant to industrial use. We focus the discussion on the use of heat, light, shear, and pH triggers as applied in several model polymeric systems for inducing active release. The goal is that through this review trends will emerge for how technologies can be better developed to maximize their value through industrial adaptation.

Impact of self-healing capability on network robustness

A wide spectrum of real-life systems ranging from neurons to botnets display spontaneous recovery ability. Using the generating function formalism applied to static uncorrelated random networks with arbitrary degree distributions, the microscopic mechanism underlying the depreciation-recovery process is characterized and the effect of varying self-healing capability on network robustness is revealed. It is found that the self-healing capability of nodes has a profound impact on the phase transition in the emergence of percolating clusters, and that salient difference exists in upholding network integrity under random failures and intentional attacks. The results provide a theoretical framework for quantitatively understanding the self-healing phenomenon in varied complex systems.

Thermally induced release from polymeric microparticles with liquid core: the mechanism

Herein we demonstrate how the volatility of a liquid can be manipulated by enclosing microdroplets of the liquid into thin polymeric shells. In this way, composite core-shell microparticles consisting of 80 wt% of a liquid core material and 20 wt% of a polymer can be made 150 °C more stable than the individual core component. The thermal stability of the composite microparticles is found to be determined by the boiling point of the core material and the average particle size, while the role of the particle shell thickness is much less relevant. Two mechanisms responsible for the release of the core material from the microparticles at elevated temperatures were resolved: (1) thermally induced degradation of the shell and (2) diffusion of the core material through the polymeric shell boosted by the increased inner pressure.

A shape-recovery polymer coating for the corrosion protection of metallic surfaces

Self-healing polymer coatings are a type of smart material aimed for advanced corrosion protection of metals. This paper presents the synthesis and characterization of two new UV-cure self-healing coatings based on acrylated polycaprolactone polyurethanes. On a macroscopic scale, the cured films all show outstanding mechanical properties, combining relatively high Young's modulus of up to 270 MPa with a strain at break above 350%. After thermal activation the strained films recover up to 97% of their original length. Optical and electron microscopy reveals the self-healing properties of these coatings on hot dip galvanized steel with scratches and microindentations. The temperature-induced closing of such defects restores the corrosion protection and barrier properties of the coating as shown by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning vibrating electrode technique. Therefore, such coatings are a complementary option for encapsulation-based autonomous corrosion protection systems.

Antifouling and antibacterial hydrogel coatings with self-healing properties based on a dynamic disulfide exchange reaction

Antifouling and antibacterial hydrogel coatings with self-healing properties were developed via a simple surface-initiated thiol–ene photopolymerization.

Conductive microcapsules for self-healing electric circuits

Well dispersed conductive microcapsules can be processed directly with inorganic-based Ag paste and perform high restoration efficiency for as-cast electrical circuits.

Self-healing, malleable and creep limiting materials using both supramolecular and reversible covalent linkages

A combination of supramolecular and dynamic covalent linkages were used to create creep limited self-healing materials.

Self-healing polymers with PEG oligomer side chains based on multiple H-bonding and adhesion properties

Copolymers with a PEG oligomer side chain present high surface energies and adhesion properties; they also can quickly self-heal the crack interfaces spontaneously at ambient temperature.

A simple and versatile approach to self-healing polymers and electrically conductive composites

In this study, a simple and versatile approach to self-healing polymers and electrically conductive composites is reported.

A self-healing PDMS polymer with solvatochromic properties

Cobalt(ii) triazole complexes were incorporated into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The resulting polymers show solvent-induced chromic behaviour as well as self-healing properties.

Rapid stiffening of a microfluidic endoskeleton via frontal polymerization

Materials capable of rapidly modifying their physical properties in response to stimuli are desirable for on-demand deployment and adaptive engineering structures. Frontal polymerization is a self-propagating reaction that can quickly transform liquid reactants into solid products. In this contribution, we demonstrate that frontal polymerization enables facile, rapid stiffening of a vascular network embedded in a flexible matrix. Systematic variation of the vascular architecture shows that polymerization fronts in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix are self-propagating in channels as small as 838 μm and even when curves, branch points and converging geometries are present. After polymerization the composite structure was dramatically stiffened (up to 18 times the original Young's modulus) based on tensile testing results. This work demonstrates the use of frontal polymerization as an efficient methodology for transforming flexible materials into functional supports or surfaces through endoskeletal stiffening.

Bioinspired materials: from low to high dimensional structure

The surprising properties of biomaterials are the results of billions of years of evolution. Generally, biomaterials are assembled under mild conditions with very limited supply of constituents available for living organism, and their amazing properties largely result from the sophisticated hierarchical structures. Following the biomimetic principles to prepare manmade materials has drawn great research interests in materials science and engineering. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in fabricating bioinspired materials with the emphasis on mimicking the structure from one to three dimensions. Selected examples are described with a focus on the relationship between the structural characters and the corresponding functions. For one-dimensional materials, spider fibers, polar bear hair, multichannel plant roots and so on have been involved. Natural structure color and color shifting surfaces, and the antifouling, antireflective coatings of biomaterials are chosen as the typical examples of the two-dimensional biomimicking. The outstanding protection performance, and the stimuli responsive and self-healing functions of biomaterials based on the sophisticated hierarchical bulk structures are the emphases of the three-dimensional mimicking. Finally, a summary and outlook are given.

Microfluidic Thermally Activated Materials for Rapid Control of Macroscopic Compliance

Macroscopic structures that undergo rapid and reversible stiffness transitions can serve as functional polymeric materials for many applications in robotics and medical devices. Thermomechanical phase transitions can provide a suitable mechanism for transient control of mechanical properties. However, the characteristic time scale for actuation is large and dictated by the dimensions of the structure. Embedding vascular networks within bulk polymers can reduce the characteristic length scale of the material and permit rapid and reversible thermomechanical transitions. Here we report perfusable bulk materials with embedded microvascular networks that can undergo rapid and reversible stiffness transitions. Acrylate-based thermoplastic structures exhibit storage moduli with a dynamic range between E' = 1.02 ± 0.07 GPa and E' = 13.5 ± 0.7 MPa over time scales as small as 2.4 ± 0.5 s using an aqueous thermal perfusate. The spatiotemporal evolutions of temperature profiles were accurately predicted using finite element simulation and compared to experimental values. Rigid-compliant transitions were leveraged in a demonstration in which a microvascularized device was used to grasp an external object without the aid of moving parts.

Revelation of intertwining organic and inorganic fractal structures in polymer coatings

X-ray microtomography and serial block face scanning electron microscopy are used to reveal independent clusters of inorganic particles embedded within a polymer. These clusters are interpenetrating, of varying size, and have fractal dimensions that strongly influence transport and structure-property relations. This interpretation forms a baseline for designing hybrid materials for applications in self-healing, drug delivery, and membranes.

Hydrogel bioprinted microchannel networks for vascularization of tissue engineering constructs

Vascularization remains a critical challenge in tissue engineering. The development of vascular networks within densely populated and metabolically functional tissues facilitate transport of nutrients and removal of waste products, thus preserving cellular viability over a long period of time. Despite tremendous progress in fabricating complex tissue constructs in the past few years, approaches for controlled vascularization within hydrogel based engineered tissue constructs have remained limited. Here, we report a three dimensional (3D) micromolding technique utilizing bioprinted agarose template fibers to fabricate microchannel networks with various architectural features within photocrosslinkable hydrogel constructs. Using the proposed approach, we were able to successfully embed functional and perfusable microchannels inside methacrylated gelatin (GelMA), star poly(ethylene glycol-co-lactide) acrylate (SPELA), poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels at different concentrations. In particular, GelMA hydrogels were used as a model to demonstrate the functionality of the fabricated vascular networks in improving mass transport, cellular viability and differentiation within the cell-laden tissue constructs. In addition, successful formation of endothelial monolayers within the fabricated channels was confirmed. Overall, our proposed strategy represents an effective technique for vascularization of hydrogel constructs with useful applications in tissue engineering and organs on a chip.

Fire ants actively control spacing and orientation within self-assemblages

To overcome obstacles and survive harsh environments, fire ants link their bodies together to form self-assemblages such as rafts, bridges and bivouacs. Such structures are examples of self-assembling and self-healing materials, as ants can quickly create and break links with one another in response to changes in their environment. Because ants are opaque, the arrangement of the ants within these three-dimensional networks was previously unknown. In this experimental study, we applied micro-scale computed tomography, or micro-CT, to visualize the connectivity, arrangement and orientation of ants within an assemblage. We identified active and geometric mechanisms that ants use to obtain favorable packing properties with respect to well-studied packing of inert objects such as cylinders. Ants use their legs to push against their neighbors, doubling their spacing relative to random packing of cylinders. These legs also permit active control of their orientation, an ability ants use to arrange themselves perpendicularly rather than in parallel. Lastly, we found an important role of ant polymorphism in promoting self-aggregation: a large distribution of ant sizes permits small ants to fit between the legs of larger ants, a phenomenon that increases the number of average connections per ant. These combined mechanisms lead to low packing fraction and high connectivity, which increase raft buoyancy and strength during flash floods.

Adaptable hetero Diels-Alder networks for fast self-healing under mild conditions

A novel adaptable network based on the reversible hetero Diels-Alder reaction of a cyanodithioester and cyclopentadiene is presented. Reversible between 50-120 °C, the adjustable and self-healing features of the network are evidenced via temperature dependent rheology experiments and repetitive tensile tests whereas the network's chemical structure is explored by temperature dependent (1) H MAS-NMR spectroscopy.

Autonomic healing of carbon fiber/epoxy interfaces

A maximum of 91% recovery of interfacial shear strength (IFSS) is achieved for carbon fiber/epoxy interfaces functionalized with capsules containing reactive epoxy resin and ethyl phenyl acetate (EPA). We find a binder is necessary to improve the retention of capsules on the carbon fiber surface. Two different methods for applying the binder to the carbon fiber surface are investigated. Healing efficiency is assessed by recovery of IFSS of a single functionalized fiber embedded in a microdroplet of epoxy. Debonding of the fiber/matrix interface ruptures the capsules, releasing resin and EPA solvent into the crack plane. The solvent swells the matrix, initiating transport of residual amine functionality from the matrix for further curing with the epoxy resin delivered to the crack plane. The two binder protocols produce comparable results, both yielding higher recovery of IFSS than samples prepared without a binder.

Extended fatigue life of a catalyst free self-healing acrylic bone cement using microencapsulated 2-octyl cyanoacrylate

The tissue adhesive 2-octyl cyanoacrylate (OCA) was encapsulated in polyurethane microshells and incorporated into bone cement to form a catalyst free, self-healing bone cement comprised of all clinically approved components. The bending strength, modulus, and fatigue lifetime were investigated in accordance with ASTM and ISO standards for the testing of PMMA bone cement. The bending strength of bone cement specimens decreased with increasing wt % capsules content for capsules without or with OCA, with specimens of <5 wt % capsule content showing minimal effect. In contrast, bone cement bending modulus was insensitive to capsule content. Load controlled fatigue testing was performed in air at room temperature on capsule free bone cement (0 wt %), bone cement with 5 wt % OCA-free capsules (5 wt % No OCA), and 5 wt % OCA-containing capsules (5 wt % OCA). Specimens were tested at a frequency of 5 Hz at maximum stresses of 90%, 80%, 70%, and 50% of each specimen's bending strength until failure. The 5 wt % OCA exhibited significant self-healing at 70% and 50% of its reference strength (p < 0.05). Fatigue testing of all three specimen types in air at 22 MPa (50% of reference strength of the 5 wt % OCA specimens) showed that the cycles to failure of OCA-containing specimens was increased by two-fold compared with the OCA-free and capsule-free specimens. This study represents the first demonstration of dynamic, catalyst free self-healing in a biomaterial formulation.

Electrically conductive PEDOT coating with self-healing superhydrophobicity

A self-healing electrically conductive superhydrophobic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) coating has been prepared by chemical vapor deposition of a fluoroalkylsilane (POTS) onto a PEDOT film, which was obtained by electrochemical deposition. The coating not only maintained high conductivity with a low resistivity of 3.2 × 10(-4) Ω·m, but also displayed a water contact angle larger than 156° and a sliding angle smaller than 10°. After being etched with O2 plasma, the coating showed an excellent self-healing ability, spontaneously regaining its superhydrophobicity when left under ambient conditions for 20 h. This superhydrophobicity recovery process was found to be humidity-dependent, and could be accelerated and completed within 2 h under a high humidity of 84%. The coating also exhibited good superhydrophobicity recovering ability after being corroded by strong acid solution at pH 1 or strong base solution at pH 14 for 3 h.

Hierarchical hydrogen bonds directed multi-functional carbon nanotube-based supramolecular hydrogels

Supramolecular hydrogels (SMHs) are three-dimensional networks filled with a large amount of water. The crosslinking force in the 3D network is always constructed by relatively weak and dynamic non-covalent interactions, and thus SMHs usually possess extremely high susceptibility to external environment and can show extraordinary stimuli-responsive, self-healing or other attractive properties. However, the overall crosslinking force in hydrogel networks is difficult to flexibly modulate, and this leads to limited functions of the SMHs. In this regard, hierarchical hydrogen bonds, that is, the mixture of relatively strong and relatively weak hydrogen bonds, are used herein as crosslinking force for the hydrogel preparation. The ratio of strong and weak hydrogen bonds can be finely tuned to tailor the properties of resultant gels. Thus, by delicate manipulation of the overall crosslinking force in the system, a hydrogel with multiple (thermal, pH and NIR light) responsiveness, autonomous self-healing property and interesting temperature dependent, reversible adhesion behavior is obtained. This kind of hierarchical hydrogen bond manipulation is proved to be a general method for multiple-functionality hydrogel preparation, and the resultant material shows potential for a range of applications.

Ultrafast self-healing of polymer toward strength restoration

Self-healing materials should take effect immediately following crack generation in principle, but the speed of autonomic recovery of mechanical properties through either extrinsic or intrinsic healing strategy reported so far is not that fast. Mostly, a couple of hours are taken for reaching steady state or maximum healing. To accelerate the healing process, the authors of this work make use of antimony pentafluoride as instant hardener of epoxy and successfully encapsulate the highly active antimony pentafluoride-ethanol complex in terms of hollow silica spheres. Accordingly, self-healing agent based on microencapsulated antimony pentafluoride-ethanol complex and epoxy monomer is developed. Epoxy material with the embedded healant capsules can thus be healed within a few seconds, as demonstrated by impact and fatigue tests. It is believed that the outcome presented here might help to move the self-healing technique closer to practical application, especially when the engineering significance of epoxy material is concerned.

Autonomic composite hydrogels by reactive printing: materials and oscillatory response

Autonomic materials are those that automatically respond to a change in environmental conditions, such as temperature or chemical composition. While such materials hold incredible potential for a wide range of uses, their implementation is limited by the small number of fully-developed material systems. To broaden the number of available systems, we have developed a post-functionalization technique where a reactive Ru catalyst ink is printed onto a non-responsive polymer substrate. Using a succinimide-amine coupling reaction, patterns are printed onto co-polymer or biomacromolecular films containing primary amine functionality, such as polyacrylamide (PAAm) or poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide (PNIPAAm) copolymerized with poly-N-(3-Aminopropyl)methacrylamide (PAPMAAm). When the films are placed in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) solution medium, the reaction takes place only inside the printed nodes. In comparison to alternative BZ systems, where Ru-containing monomers are copolymerized with base monomers, reactive printing provides facile tuning of a range of hydrogel compositions, as well as enabling the formation of mechanically robust composite monoliths. The autonomic response of the printed nodes is similar for all matrices in the BZ solution concentrations examined, where the period of oscillation decreases in response to increasing sodium bromate or nitric acid concentration. A temperature increase reduces the period of oscillations and temperature gradients are shown to function as pace-makers, dictating the direction of the autonomic response (chemical waves).

Self-healing networks: redundancy and structure

We introduce the concept of self-healing in the field of complex networks modelling; in particular, self-healing capabilities are implemented through distributed communication protocols that exploit redundant links to recover the connectivity of the system. We then analyze the effect of the level of redundancy on the resilience to multiple failures; in particular, we measure the fraction of nodes still served for increasing levels of network damages. Finally, we study the effects of redundancy under different connectivity patterns—from planar grids, to small-world, up to scale-free networks—on healing performances. Small-world topologies show that introducing some long-range connections in planar grids greatly enhances the resilience to multiple failures with performances comparable to the case of the most resilient (and least realistic) scale-free structures. Obvious applications of self-healing are in the important field of infrastructural networks like gas, power, water, oil distribution systems.

Self-healing of hierarchical materials

We present a theoretical and numerical analysis of the mechanical behavior of self-healing materials using an analytical model and numerical calculations both based on a Hierarchical Fiber Bundle Model, and applying them to graphene- or carbon-nanotube-based materials. The self-healing process can be described essentially through a single parameter, that is, the healing rate, but numerical simulations also highlight the influence of the location of the healing process on the overall strengthening and toughening of the material. The role of hierarchy is discussed, showing that full-scale hierarchical structures can in fact acquire more favorable properties than smaller, nonhierarchical ones through interaction with the self-healing process, thus inverting the common notion in fracture mechanics that specimen strength increases with decreasing size. Further, the study demonstrates that the developed analytical and numerical tools can be useful to develop strategies for the optimization of strength and toughness of synthetic bioinspired materials.

Structural reinforcement of microvascular networks using electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly with halloysite nanotubes

We demonstrate a method for tailoring local mechanical properties near channel surfaces of vascular structural polymers in order to achieve high structural performance in microvascular systems. While synthetic vascularized materials have been created by a variety of manufacturing techniques, unreinforced microchannels act as stress concentrators and lead to the initiation of premature failure. Taking inspiration from biological tissues such as dentin and bone, these mechanical deficiencies can be mitigated by complex hierarchical structural features near to channel surfaces. By employing electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly (ELbL) to deposit films containing halloysite nanotubes onto scaffold surfaces followed by matrix infiltration and scaffold removal, we are able to controllably deposit nanoscale reinforcement onto 200 micron diameter channel surface interiors in microvascular networks. High resolution strain measurements on reinforced networks under load verify that the halloysite reduces strain concentrations and improves mechanical performance.

25th anniversary article: Rational design and applications of hydrogels in regenerative medicine

Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymer-based materials with high water content and physical characteristics that resemble the native extracellular matrix. Because of their remarkable properties, hydrogel systems are used for a wide range of biomedical applications, such as three-dimensional (3D) matrices for tissue engineering, drug-delivery vehicles, composite biomaterials, and as injectable fillers in minimally invasive surgeries. In addition, the rational design of hydrogels with controlled physical and biological properties can be used to modulate cellular functionality and tissue morphogenesis. Here, the development of advanced hydrogels with tunable physiochemical properties is highlighted, with particular emphasis on elastomeric, light-sensitive, composite, and shape-memory hydrogels. Emerging technologies developed over the past decade to control hydrogel architecture are also discussed and a number of potential applications and challenges in the utilization of hydrogels in regenerative medicine are reviewed. It is anticipated that the continued development of sophisticated hydrogels will result in clinical applications that will improve patient care and quality of life.

Multivalent hydrogen bonding block copolymers self-assemble into strong and tough self-healing materials

ABA triblock copolymers with glassy PMMA middle blocks and dynamic hydrogen bonding terminal blocks self-assemble into nanocomposites having an excellent combination of mechanical strength and self-healing capability.