It was manufactured by researchers from Aalto University and the University of Bayreuth. It is the first hydrogel of its kind. It has a unique structure that replicates at the same time the two unique qualities of human skin: high rigidity and self -care. The gel that is regenerated as the skin has multiple applications.
We all find gels in daily life. From the soft and sticky substances that we put in the hair to the jelly components of various foods. Human skin shares gelatinous characteristics, its properties are very difficult to reproduce. It combines great rigidity with flexibility and has a remarkable self -care capacity. It is often heals completely in 24 hours after an injury. Artificial gels had not achieved both features in a single products. Until now.
Unique regeneration
The gel that is regenerated as the skin would help healing wounds, soft robotic sensors and artificial skin. The researchers added exceptionally large and ultrafine clay nanolás to hydrogels. The result is a highly ordered structure with densely intertwined polymers between nanolminas. These allow the material to selfocur. The research was published in the prestigious Nature Materials magazine.
The secret of the material is in the polymers that are intertwined between them, and in a process as simple as bake. “UV radiation causes individual molecules to join so that everything becomes an elastic solid, a gel,” they explain.
Fast process
Four hours after cutting it with a knife, the material has already self -confused at 80 or 90 percent. After 24 hours, it is usually completely repaired. A hydrogel of a millimeter thick contains 10,000 layers of nanolminas. This makes the material as rigid as human skin and gives it a comparable degree of elasticity and flexibility.
«Rigid, strong and self -colured hydrogels have been a challenge for a long time. We have discovered a mechanism to strengthen traditionally soft hydrogels. This could revolutionize the development of new materials with biological inspiration properties, ”they say.
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