Issue 8, 2007

Teaching hydrogels how to move like an earthworm

Abstract

Breaking of symmetry is an important principle employed in nature to achieve directional movement in systems of various dimensional scales. The same principle can be utilized in engineered devices. Here we highlight recent work on directed motion and transport capacity of environmentally sensitive polymer gels. The directional motion of cylindrical hydrogels is driven by spatially and temporally controlled propagation of volume phase transitions along their length. This system could potentially be used in a wide variety of areas including biochemical test systems, targeted drug delivery and “soft” medical tools.

Graphical abstract: Teaching hydrogels how to move like an earthworm

Article information

Article type
Highlight
First published
13 Jun 2007

Soft Matter, 2007,3, 939-944

Teaching hydrogels how to move like an earthworm

L. Yeghiazarian, H. Arora, V. Nistor, C. Montemagno and U. Wiesner, Soft Matter, 2007, 3, 939 DOI: 10.1039/B703774K

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