Shape Morphable Hydrogel/Elastomer Bilayer for Implanted Retinal Electronics

Micromachines

卷:11

JamesD. Weiland¹  DoHyun Kang²  Muru Zhou³  Jinsang Kim³ 

[1] Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;

[2] Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;

[3] Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;

关键词: hydrogel;    bilayer;    responsive materials;    retinal prosthesis;    shape memory materials;   

DOI  :  10.3390/mi11040392

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Direct fabrication of a three-dimensional (3D) structure using soft materials has been challenging. The hybrid bilayer is a promising approach to address this challenge because of its programable shape-transformation ability when responding to various stimuli. The goals of this study are to experimentally and theoretically establish a rational design principle of a hydrogel/elastomer bilayer system and further optimize the programed 3D structures that can serve as substrates for multi-electrode arrays. The hydrogel/elastomer bilayer consists of a hygroscopic polyacrylamide (PAAm) layer cofacially laminated with a water-insensitive polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer. The asymmetric volume change in the PAAm hydrogel can bend the bilayer into a curvature. We manipulate the initial monomer concentrations of the pre-gel solutions of PAAm to experimentally and theoretically investigate the effect of intrinsic mechanical properties of the hydrogel on the resulting curvature. By using the obtained results as a design guideline, we demonstrated stimuli-responsive transformation of a PAAm/PDMS flower-shaped bilayer from a flat bilayer film to a curved 3D structure that can serve as a substrate for a wide-field retinal electrode array.

【 授权许可】

Unknown