tissue engineering<\/a> as this enables increased cell-cell interactions that can promote tissue development.”<\/p>\nTaking advantage of advanced materials<\/h3>\n 4D materials are similar to 3D materials, however, they change shape when they are exposed to specific environmental cues, such as light or water. These materials have drawn the attention of biomedical engineers as potential new structural substrates for tissue engineering, but most currently available 4D materials are not biodegradable or compatible with cells.<\/p>\n
To take advantage of the promise of 4D materials for bioengineering applications, Alsberg and colleagues developed the new hydrogel-based material that change shape over time in response to the addition of water. The cell-compatible and biodegradable material is an excellent candidate for advanced tissue engineering.<\/p>\n
In the paper, the researchers describe how exposure to water causes the hydrogel scaffolds to swell as the water is absorbed. The amount of swelling can be tuned by changing aspects of the hydrogel material such as its degradation rate or the concentration of cross-linked polymers \u2013 strands of protein or polysaccharide in this case \u2013 that comprise the hydrogels.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that by layering hydrogels with different properties, the difference in water absorption between the layers will cause the hydrogel stack to bend into a ‘C’ shaped conformation. If the stack bends enough, a tubular shape is formed, which resembles structures like blood vessels and other tubular organs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New hydrogel-based 4D material changes shape in response to psychological stimuli and could be used to bioengineer organs. As published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the hydrogel-based material, developed by a research team at the University of Illinois, Chicago, USA, can curl into tubes in response to water, making the materials good candidates for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[766,24429],"tags":[3475,833],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
4D material could help scientists bioengineer organs<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n