Cargando…
Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Biological Applications
The term liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) describes a class of materials that combine the elastic entropy behaviour associated with conventional elastomers with the stimuli responsive properties of anisotropic liquid crystals. LCEs consequently exhibit attributes of both elastomers and liquid crystals...
Autores principales: | , , , , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2021
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8005174/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33810173 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nano11030813 |
_version_ | 1783672073559736320 |
---|---|
author | Hussain, Mariam Jull, Ethan I. L. Mandle, Richard J. Raistrick, Thomas Hine, Peter J. Gleeson, Helen F. |
author_facet | Hussain, Mariam Jull, Ethan I. L. Mandle, Richard J. Raistrick, Thomas Hine, Peter J. Gleeson, Helen F. |
author_sort | Hussain, Mariam |
collection | PubMed |
description | The term liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) describes a class of materials that combine the elastic entropy behaviour associated with conventional elastomers with the stimuli responsive properties of anisotropic liquid crystals. LCEs consequently exhibit attributes of both elastomers and liquid crystals, but additionally have unique properties not found in either. Recent developments in LCE synthesis, as well as the understanding of the behaviour of liquid crystal elastomers—namely their mechanical, optical and responsive properties—is of significant relevance to biology and biomedicine. LCEs are abundant in nature, highlighting the potential use of LCEs in biomimetics. Their exceptional tensile properties and biocompatibility have led to research exploring their applications in artificial tissue, biological sensors and cell scaffolds by exploiting their actuation and shock absorption properties. There has also been significant recent interest in using LCEs as a model for morphogenesis. This review provides an overview of some aspects of LCEs which are of relevance in different branches of biology and biomedicine, as well as discussing how recent LCE advances could impact future applications. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8005174 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-80051742021-03-29 Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Biological Applications Hussain, Mariam Jull, Ethan I. L. Mandle, Richard J. Raistrick, Thomas Hine, Peter J. Gleeson, Helen F. Nanomaterials (Basel) Review The term liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) describes a class of materials that combine the elastic entropy behaviour associated with conventional elastomers with the stimuli responsive properties of anisotropic liquid crystals. LCEs consequently exhibit attributes of both elastomers and liquid crystals, but additionally have unique properties not found in either. Recent developments in LCE synthesis, as well as the understanding of the behaviour of liquid crystal elastomers—namely their mechanical, optical and responsive properties—is of significant relevance to biology and biomedicine. LCEs are abundant in nature, highlighting the potential use of LCEs in biomimetics. Their exceptional tensile properties and biocompatibility have led to research exploring their applications in artificial tissue, biological sensors and cell scaffolds by exploiting their actuation and shock absorption properties. There has also been significant recent interest in using LCEs as a model for morphogenesis. This review provides an overview of some aspects of LCEs which are of relevance in different branches of biology and biomedicine, as well as discussing how recent LCE advances could impact future applications. MDPI 2021-03-22 /pmc/articles/PMC8005174/ /pubmed/33810173 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nano11030813 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) ). |
spellingShingle | Review Hussain, Mariam Jull, Ethan I. L. Mandle, Richard J. Raistrick, Thomas Hine, Peter J. Gleeson, Helen F. Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Biological Applications |
title | Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Biological Applications |
title_full | Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Biological Applications |
title_fullStr | Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Biological Applications |
title_full_unstemmed | Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Biological Applications |
title_short | Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Biological Applications |
title_sort | liquid crystal elastomers for biological applications |
topic | Review |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8005174/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33810173 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nano11030813 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT hussainmariam liquidcrystalelastomersforbiologicalapplications AT jullethanil liquidcrystalelastomersforbiologicalapplications AT mandlerichardj liquidcrystalelastomersforbiologicalapplications AT raistrickthomas liquidcrystalelastomersforbiologicalapplications AT hinepeterj liquidcrystalelastomersforbiologicalapplications AT gleesonhelenf liquidcrystalelastomersforbiologicalapplications |