Hydrogels are soft, water-rich polymeric materials that can swell or shrink in response to environmental stimuli. This ability to change shape makes them valuable in miniaturized devices for flexible ...

However, most current hydrogel pores use circular designs, which limit control over shape change and lead to unpredictable, slow actuation. They often close unevenly and recover poorly, reducing their ...

Electrically tunable ionic hydrogels use small voltages to switch friction at metal contacts between high-friction and ultra-low-friction states, enabling voltage-programmed grip, release and motion ...

A gelatinous substance that would otherwise be waste from a nut often used to make herbal tea can be made into a hydrogel with all different biomedical uses, University of Chicago researchers recently ...

This study is led by Prof. Hongbo Zeng (Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta) and Prof. Ning Gu (Nanjing Key Laboratory for Cardiovascular Information and Health ...

Hydrogels are made of elastic networks of polymer chains that are permeated with water. They are soft, elastic, and biocompatible. As a result, the squishy materials are already widely used in contact ...

The proposed strategy utilizes facet-and-hinge architectures to guide the swelling of facets in polygonal pores along predefined directs, enabling precise control over pore closure and restoration.

For example, hydrogel pores can be engineered to trap and release tiny drug particles on demand. However, most current hydrogel pores use circular designs, which limit control over shape change and ...