Nanoengineers at the University of California-San Diego have developed a new type of biomaterial that closely mimics the mechanical properties of human tissue. The material, which is about the thickness of a human hair, exhibits a negative Poisson’s ratio, meaning it doesn’t wrinkle when stretched, which makes it an ideal tissue patch for damaged heart walls, blood vessels, and skin. The secret behind this new material is the shape that is formed when the material is layered. While most engineered biomaterials are layered in scaffolds that are shaped like circular or square holes, the UCSD material takes on a new shapes, called a “reentrant honeycomb” and “cut missing rib. The shape of the scaffold is what gives the material its unusual properties.
Just as significant as the novel material itself is the manufacturing process used to create the material. The process is a biofabrication technique that uses light, precisely controlled mirrors and a computer projection system. Patterns are projected on a solution of new cells and polymers to fabricate well-defined patterns for three-dimensional scaffolds. The technique could be applied to other materials as well, for example, developing new materials for spacecraft parts.
Article from UCSD: Nanoengineers Invent New Biomaterial That More Closely Mimics Human Tissue…
Full Paper: Three-Dimensional Polymer Constructs Exhibiting a Tunable Negative Poisson’s Ratio …
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