Inspired by the way plants grow toward light sources, a phenomenon known as phototropism, bioengineers from the UC Berkeley have created a hydrogel that could be manipulated by light. The new hydrogel, described earlier this month in the journal Nano Letters, could have future applications in the emerging field of soft robotics, which takes a cue from squishy creatures in nature, like starfish, squids and octopuses, to create flexible components. "Shape-changing gels such as ours could have applications for drug delivery and tissue engineering," said study principal investigator Seung-Wuk Lee, associated professor of bioengineering. Read more at: phys.org/news/2013-05-light-controlled-gel-big-soft-robotics.html#jCp
Posted on: Fri, 31 May 2013 11:10:29 +0000
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