SUTD research team extends 4D printing to nanophotonics
The newly developed shape memory polymer resist which allows for high-resolution 4D printing, promises a platform for information hiding for optical anti-counterfeiting and tunable photonic devices
2021-01-22
(Press-News.org) The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and its research collaborators have successfully demonstrated the four-dimensional (4D) printing of shape memory polymers in submicron dimensions which are comparable to the wavelength of visible light. This novel development has allowed researchers to now explore new applications in the field of nanophotonics.
4D printing enables 3D printed structures to change its configurations over time and is used in a wide variety of fields such as soft robotics, flexible electronics, and medical devices.
Different materials such as hydrogels, liquid crystal elastomers and magnetic nanoparticles embedded resists along with corresponding printing methods like Direct Ink Writing (DIW), Polyjet, Digital Light Processing (DLP) lithography and Stereolithography (SLA) have been developed for 4D printing. However, the material and patterning challenges inherent to these methods limit the resolution of 4D printing to ~10 μm at best.
To improve the resolution of 4D printing, the research team developed a shape memory polymer (SMP) photoresist suitable for two-photon polymerization lithography (TPL). Integrating this newly developed resist with TPL, they investigated submicron 4D printing of SMPs at which scale the printed structures can interact strongly with visible light. By programming with pressure and heat, the submicron structures can switch between colourless and colourful states (see image).
"It's remarkable that these 3D printed nanostructures are able to recover their shapes and structural colour after they've been mechanically flattened into a colourless, transparent state. This new resist that we've concocted allows for really fine structures to be printed while still retaining their properties as a shape memory polymer," said Associate Professor Joel K. W. Yang, principal investigator of the team from SUTD.
"By characterizing the photoresist, we printed the SMPs with ~300nm half pitch. The resolution is an order of magnitude higher than traditional high-resolution printing methods such as DLP and SLA. The dimensions of the structures can be conveniently controlled by varying the printing parameters such as laser power, write speed and nominal height," added Wang Zhang, first author and PhD student from SUTD.
INFORMATION:
This study was published in Nature Communications, a multidisciplinary journal that publishes high-quality research from all areas of the natural sciences.
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2021-01-22
Scientists at Hokkaido University and Chiba University have developed simultaneous triploid and hexaploid varieties of Haemanthus albiflos by the application of endosperm culture, thus extending the use of this technique.
In plants, the number of chromosome sets in cells (ploidy) affects a large number of desirable characteristics. In general, the greater the number of chromosome sets, the more like the plant is to have larger flowers, larger fruits, be more disease resistant, and so on. Hence, particularly in agriculture and horticulture, the development of polyploid plants continues to receive much attention.
Scientists from Hokkaido University and Chiba University have successfully developed triploid (3 chromosome sets) ...
2021-01-22
It's mid-January 2021, and the first gray whales from the eastern North Pacific population have started to arrive in the breeding lagoons in Baja California, Mexico. Since the start of their southbound migration from their high latitude feeding grounds, several sightings of emaciated gray whales have already been reported along their migration route.
This has raised concern among scientists that the unusual mortality event (UME, an unexpected phenomenon during which a significant number of a marine mammal population dies), that started in January 2019, and which so far has resulted in 378 confirmed ...
2021-01-22
Kanazawa, Japan - Liver injury is a rare side effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are frequently used for daily pain control. This toxicity has been regarded as a "black box" and is mainly managed by an empirical approach, but there is not a clear understanding of the mechanism. Now, researchers from Japan have found that a bit of attention to the types and frequencies of NSAIDs could help people avoid liver injury.
In a study published recently in Biochemical Pharmacology, researchers from Kanazawa University have revealed that specific NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, are metabolized by one of the acyl-CoA synthetases, ACSL1, in a manner that can have toxic effects.
NSAIDs containing a specific chemical group, carboxylic acid, can form "conjugates" with ...
2021-01-22
In a new study published in Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, Chen-Yu Zhang's group at Nanjing University, School of Life Sciences, and Antonio Vidal-Puig's group at University of Cambridge report that pancreatic β cells secrete miR-29 family members (miR-29s) via exosomes in response to high levels of free fatty acids (FFAs). Theses β cell-derived exosomal miR-29s regulate glucose homeostasis through their manipulations on glucose output in liver.
Previously, Chen-Yu Zhang's group identified extracellular miRNA as a new form of cell-to-cell communication. They are among the first that reported the selective secretion of miRNAs under different physiological or pathological states; also, the uptake and function of secreted miRNAs in recipient cells. In the past decade, intensive ...
2021-01-22
A new algorithm may reduce the need for expensive, time-consuming whole-genome sequencing computations to understand how a microbiome functions. A team led by JING Gongchao of the Qingdao Institute of BioEnergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and SU Xiaoquan of Qingdao University, published their approach, called Meta-Apo, on Jan. 6 in BMC Genomics.
Researchers routinely sequence samples of microbial communities found on human skin, in human guts, and in the environment to understand what genes they contain with the ultimate goal of understanding ...
2021-01-22
Degradable, bio-based polymers offer options for chemical recycling, and they can be a tool to store and release useful molecules. Scientists have developed a class of sugar-based polymers that are degradable through acid hydrolysis. The researchers also integrated "cargo" molecules in the polymer, which are designed to split off after polymer degradation. Degradable, cargo-bearing polymers are important for medical and sensor applications, says the study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.
Most plastics resist natural degradation processes. Consequently, increasing contamination of the environment with plastics has led to a call for degradable plastics. Such materials can be subjected to chemical recycling processes, in which chemical reactions break up polymer bonds. ...
2021-01-22
Metagenomics - the study of genetic material from an environmental sample - is growing as species evolve or are discovered across the globe. To correlate the newly developed microbiomes with existing data sets, a team of researchers based in China has developed the Microbiome Search Engine 2 (MSE 2). It was published on Jan. 19 in mSystems, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
"Here, we introduce MSE 2, a microbiome database platform for searching query microbiomes in the global metagenome data space based on taxonomic or functional similarity of the whole microbiome," ...
2021-01-22
Research from the University of Kent has demonstrated a decline in 'son preference' by women of childbearing age in Bangladesh. However, the study also shows that fertility decisions are still influenced according to son preference.
The paper, 'Is son preference disappearing from Bangladesh?', surveyed a nationally representative sample of Bangladeshi women of childbearing age, born between 1975 and 1994, to assess how son preference is evolving.
The term 'son preference' refers to any situation where parents value sons over daughters and make resulting choices accordingly, which can have a strong economic and demographic impact.
The study finds that among women of childbearing age in ...
2021-01-22
Leesburg, VA, January 22, 2021--According to ARRS' American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) and multiple CT findings can identify patients with high-risk nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)--advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, that is--though the presence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) remains elusive on CT.
"Subjective assessment of multiple morphologic and separately quantified parameters by trained readers and a simple quantitative three-parameter model combining two CT features, liver surface nodularity (LSN) and liver segmental volume ratio (LSVR), and a clinical score (FIB-4) showed good association with presence of advanced fibrosis," wrote first author Meghan G. Lubner from the department of radiology at the University of Wisconsin School ...
2021-01-22
The Sun's extremely hot outer layer, the corona, has a very different chemical composition from the cooler inner layers, but the reason for this has puzzled scientists for decades.
One explanation is that, in the middle layer (the chromosphere), magnetic waves exert a force that separates the Sun's plasma into different components, so that only the ion particles are transported into the corona, while leaving neutral particles behind (thus leading to a build-up of elements such as iron, silicon and magnesium in the outer atmosphere).
Now, in a new study published ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] SUTD research team extends 4D printing to nanophotonics
The newly developed shape memory polymer resist which allows for high-resolution 4D printing, promises a platform for information hiding for optical anti-counterfeiting and tunable photonic devices
