American Chemical Society

3D Printed Smart Gel Changes Shape When Exposed to Light

Inspired by the color-changing skin of cuttlefish, octopuses and squids, engineers have created a 3D printed smart gel that changes shape when exposed to light, becomes "artificial muscle" and may lead to new military camouflage, soft robotics and flexible displays.

EpiPix

EpiPix is a spin-out from University of Sheffield in the UK on January 31, 2020. The company develops and commercialize micro-LED technology for AR/VR devices, 3D sensing and LiFi.

Patterning Method for Fiber Based Devices, Smart Textiles

Multimaterial fibers that integrate metal, glass and semiconductors could be useful for applications such as biomedicine, smart textiles and robotics. But because the fibers are composed of the same materials along their lengths, it is difficult to position functional elements, such as electrodes or sensors, at specific locations.

Graphene Based Antibody Test for Detecting Kidney Disease

Researchers have developed a new graphene-based testing system for disease-related antibodies, initially targeting a kidney disease called Membranous Nephropathy.

3D Printing the First Ever Biomimetic Tongue Surface

Scientists have created synthetic soft surfaces with tongue-like textures for the first time using 3D printing - opening new possibilities for testing oral processing properties of food, nutritional technologies, pharmaceutics and dry mouth therapies.

Engineers Print Wearable Sensors Directly on Skin Without Heat

Wearable sensors are evolving from watches and electrodes to bendable devices that provide far more precise biometric measurements and comfort for users. Now, an international team of researchers has taken the evolution one step further by printing sensors directly on human skin without the use of heat.

Microbots to Kill and Clean Biofilms

Biofilms -- microbial communities that form slimy layers on surfaces -- are difficult to treat and remove, often because the microbes release molecules that block the entry of antibiotics and other therapies. Now, researchers have made magnetically propelled microbots derived from tea buds, which they call "T-Budbots," that can dislodge biofilms, release an antibiotic to kill bacteria, and clean away the debris.

Rapid 3D Printing with Visible Light

3D printing has driven innovations in fields ranging from art to aerospace to medicine. However, the high-energy ultraviolet light used in most 3D printers to cure liquid resins into solid objects limits the technique's applications.

Anti-Bacterial Graphene Face Masks

Face masks have become an important tool in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, improper use or disposal of masks may lead to "secondary transmission". A research team has successfully produced graphene masks with an anti-bacterial efficiency of 80%, which can be enhanced to almost 100% with exposure to sunlight for around 10 minutes.

3D Printing Greener Buildings Using Local Soil

The construction industry is currently facing two major challenges: the demand for sustainable infrastructure and the need to repair deteriorating buildings, bridges and roads. Researchers report progress toward a sustainable building material made from local soil, using a 3D printer to create a load-bearing structure.

Flame-Retardant, Insect Repelling Fabric for Soldiers

Using methods to measure heat release capacity and total heat release, as well as a vertical flame test, they found that the modified material performed at least 20% better than the untreated material. They also used a standard insect repellency test with live mosquitoes and found that the efficacy was greater than 98%. Finally, the fabric remained "breathable" after treatment as determined by air permeability studies.

New Fabric Could Help Keep you Cool in the Summer

Researchers have developed a material that cools the wearer without using any electricity. The fabric transfers heat, allows moisture to evaporate from the skin and repels water.

3D Printed Batteries Handle the Squeeze

While flexible and stretchable electronics technologies have progressed in leaps and bounds over the past 10 years, batteries to power them have some catching up to do. Researchers have now demonstrated a "quasi-solid-state" battery—made from materials somewhere between a liquid and a solid—that can be compressed by as much as 60% while maintaining high energy density and good stability over 10,000 charge-recharge cycles.

3D Printed Latex Rubber Breakthrough

Researchers have discovered a novel process to 3D print latex rubber, unlocking the ability to print a variety of elastic materials with complex geometric shapes.

Researchers Print, Tune Graphene Sensors to Monitor Food Freshness

Researchers dipped their new, printed sensors into tuna broth and watched the readings. It turned out the sensors - printed with high-resolution aerosol jet printers on a flexible polymer film and tuned to test for histamine, an allergen and indicator of spoiled fish and meat - can detect histamine down to 3.41 parts per million.

Shrimp Shells to Produce Electrodes for Large Storage Batteries

Researchers have developed a system to produce electrodes for vanadium flow batteries, used in renewable energy storage. The electrodes are made from chitin, a polysaccharide found in the exoskeleton of crustaceans and insects.

Wearable Patch a New Treatment Option for Skin Cancer

Conventional melanoma therapies, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, suffer from the toxicity and side effects of repeated treatments due to the aggressive and recurrent nature of melanoma cells.

Synthetic Red Blood Cells Mimic Natural Ones, Have New Abilities

Scientists have tried to develop synthetic red blood cells that mimic the favorable properties of natural ones, such as flexibility, oxygen transport and long circulation times. Now, researchers have made synthetic red blood cells that have all of the cells' natural abilities, plus a few new ones.

Making 4D Printing More Practical

Soft robots and biomedical implants that reconfigure themselves upon demand are closer to reality with a new way to print shapeshifting materials.

New Material, Modeling Methods Promise Advances in Energy Storage

The explosion of mobile electronic devices, electric vehicles, drones and other technologies have driven demand for new lightweight materials that can provide the power to operate them. Researchers have reported a structural supercapacitor electrode made from reduced graphene oxide and aramid nanofiber that is stronger and more versatile than conventional carbon-based electrodes.