1] School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA [2] Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Nat Mater. 2015 Aug;14(8):790-5. doi: 10.1038/nmat4325. Epub 2015 Jun 22.
Approaches for regulated fluid secretion, which typically rely on fluid encapsulation and release from a shelled compartment, do not usually allow a fine continuous modulation of secretion, and can be difficult to adapt for monitoring or function-integration purposes. Here, we report self-regulated, self-reporting secretion systems consisting of liquid-storage compartments in a supramolecular polymer-gel matrix with a thin liquid layer on top, and demonstrate that dynamic liquid exchange between the compartments, matrix and surface layer allows repeated, responsive self-lubrication of the surface and cooperative healing of the matrix. Depletion of the surface liquid or local material damage induces secretion of the stored liquid via a dynamic feedback between polymer crosslinking, droplet shrinkage and liquid transport that can be read out through changes in the system's optical transparency. We foresee diverse applications in fluid delivery, wetting and adhesion control, and material self-repair.
调控液体分泌的方法通常依赖于将液体包裹在有壳隔室中并进行释放，这种方法通常不允许对分泌进行精细的连续调节，并且难以适应监测或功能集成的目的。在这里，我们报告了由超分子聚合物凝胶基质中的液体储存隔室以及顶部的薄液层组成的自调节、自报告分泌系统，并证明了隔室、基质和表面层之间的动态液体交换允许表面的重复响应性自润滑和基质的协同修复。通过聚合物交联、液滴收缩和液体传输之间的动态反馈，表面液体的消耗或局部材料损伤会导致储存液体的分泌，通过系统光学透明度的变化可以读取这种反馈。我们预见到在液体输送、润湿性和附着力控制以及材料自修复等领域有多种应用。
