Researchers from Aalto University and the University of Bayreuth have made a groundbreaking discovery in materials science, creating a self-healing skin that can repair 90% of cuts within four hours and fully restore itself in 24 hours. This breakthrough has significant implications for fields such as wound healing, soft robotics, artificial skin, and drug delivery.
To achieve this feat, the scientists used ultra-thin clay nanosheets to create a dense entangled network of polymers that strengthened the hydrogel and enabled it to self-repair. When exposed to UV radiation, the individual molecules bind together, forming an elastic solid – a gel. The unique property of the polymers is their ability to intertwine when cut, allowing them to rebind quickly.
The healing process is remarkably fast, with the hydrogel being 80-90% repaired within four hours and fully restored in 24 hours. This self-healing skin has approximately 10,000 layers of nanosheets, giving it stiffness similar to human skin while allowing it to stretch.
This discovery has the potential to revolutionize the development of new materials with bio-inspired properties, including self-healing synthetic tissues, flexible robots with protective outer layers, and medical materials that can autonomously repair damage. The study was published in Nature Materials.
Source: https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/human-skin-like-hydrogel-repairs