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Lee WS, Enomoto T, Akimoto AM, Yoshida R. Temperature-Adaptative Self-Oscillating Gels: Toward Autonomous Biomimetic Soft Actuators with Broad Operating Temperature Region. Macromol Rapid Commun 2024; 45:e2400038. [PMID: 38684191 DOI: 10.1002/marc.202400038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Self-oscillating gel systems exhibiting an expanded operating temperature and accompanying functional adaptability are showcased. The developed system contains nonthermoresponsive main-monomers, such as N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAAm) or 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) or acrylamide (AAm) or 3-(methacryloylamino)propyl trimethylammonium chloride (MAPTAC). The gels volumetrically self-oscillate within the range of the conventional (20.0 °C) and extended (27.0 and 36.5 °C) temperatures. Moreover, the gels successfully adapt to the environmental changes; they beat faster and smaller as the temperature increases. The period and amplitude are also controlled by tuning the amount of main-monomers and N-(3-aminopropyl) acrylamide. Furthermore, the record amplitude in the bulk gel system consisting of polymer strand and cross-linker at 36.5 °C is achieved (≈10.8%). The study shows new self-oscillation systems composed of unprecedented combinations of materials, giving the community a robust material-based insight for developing more life-like autonomous biomimetic soft robots with various operating temperatures and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Won Seok Lee
- Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
| | - Takafumi Enomoto
- Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
| | - Aya Mizutani Akimoto
- Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
| | - Ryo Yoshida
- Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
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Blanc B, Zhang Z, Liu E, Zhou N, Dellatolas I, Aghvami A, Yi H, Fraden S. Active Pulsatile Gels: From a Chemical Microreactor to a Polymeric Actuator. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:6862-6868. [PMID: 38385757 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c03784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
We report on a synthesis protocol, experimental characterization, and theoretical modeling of active pulsatile Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) hydrogels. Our two-step synthesis technique allows independent optimization of the geometry, the chemical, and the mechanical properties of BZ gels. We identify the role of the surrounding medium chemistry and gel radius for the occurrence of BZ gel oscillations, quantified by the Damköhler number, which is the ratio of chemical reaction to diffusion rates. Tuning the BZ gel size to maximize its chemomechanical oscillation amplitude, we find that its oscillatory strain amplitude is limited by the time scale of gel swelling relative to the chemical oscillation period. Our experimental findings are in good agreement with a Vanag-Epstein model of BZ chemistry and a Tanaka Fillmore theory of gel swelling dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baptiste Blanc
- Department of Physics, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, United States
| | - Zhenkun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, 300071 Tianjin, China
| | - Eric Liu
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Ning Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, United States
| | - Ippolyti Dellatolas
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Ali Aghvami
- Department of Physics, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, United States
| | - Hyunmin Yi
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Seth Fraden
- Department of Physics, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, United States
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Lee WS, Enomoto T, Akimoto AM, Yoshida R. Capsule self-oscillating gels showing cell-like nonthermal membrane/shape fluctuations. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2023; 10:1332-1341. [PMID: 36722870 DOI: 10.1039/d2mh01490d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
A primary interest in cell membrane and shape fluctuations is establishing experimental models reflecting only nonthermal active contributions. Here we report a millimeter-scaled capsule self-oscillating gel model mirroring the active contribution effect on cell fluctuations. In the capsule self-oscillating gels, the propagating chemical signals during a Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction induce simultaneous local deformations in the various regions, showing cell-like shape fluctuations. The capsule self-oscillating gels do not fluctuate without the BZ reaction, implying that only the active chemical parameter induces the gel fluctuations. The period and amplitude depend on the gel layer thickness and the concentration of the chemical substrate for the BZ reaction. Our results allow for a solid experimental platform showing actively driven cell-like fluctuations, which can potentially contribute to investigating the active parameter effect on cell fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Won Seok Lee
- Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan.
| | - Takafumi Enomoto
- Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan.
| | - Aya Mizutani Akimoto
- Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan.
| | - Ryo Yoshida
- Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan.
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