Self-healing hydrogels

  

One amazing technology that the body can do but material have a hard time mimicking is the ability of skin and muscle being able to repair and regrow.  Researchers at University of California- San Diego have discovered a hydrogel that seems to be self-repairing is self-healing. The hydrogels as made of a chain of hydrophillic polymers that mimic skins appearance due to their high water content.  To preform the self-healing affect the polymers in the hydrogel has lose "hanging fingers" that attach to each other when ripped apart. They get ripped apart then the "hanging fingers" simply cling to each other again. Researchers have found that the length of these ends are crucial in determining if they would reform. These hydrogels also preform differently in different pHs. If the pH is low they form faster, stronger bonds versus if they were in higher pHs. This technology can be used in future medicines to develop part of biological material.

This type of technology interested me because I want to go into tissue engineering and material. These types of materials can further be used in the future for complete implantation or even replace skin if development continues in this area. This article is the kind of research that I would like to do in the future.

www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-03/smart-self-healing-hydrogels-repair-themselves-after-sustaining-damage