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Self‐(Un)rolling Biopolymer Microstructures: Rings, Tubules, and Helical Tubules from the Same Material
Author(s) -
Ye Chunhong,
Nikolov Svetoslav V.,
Calabrese Rossella,
Dindar Amir,
Alexeev Alexander,
Kippelen Bernard,
Kaplan David L.,
Tsukruk Vladimir V.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201502485
Subject(s) - biopolymer , materials science , fabrication , biocompatible material , microstructure , morphology (biology) , nanotechnology , aqueous solution , self assembly , layer (electronics) , chemical engineering , composite material , chemistry , polymer , biomedical engineering , organic chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , engineering , pathology , biology , genetics
We have demonstrated the facile formation of reversible and fast self‐rolling biopolymer microstructures from sandwiched active–passive, silk‐on‐silk materials. Both experimental and modeling results confirmed that the shape of individual sheets effectively controls biaxial stresses within these sheets, which can self‐roll into distinct 3D structures including microscopic rings, tubules, and helical tubules. This is a unique example of tailoring self‐rolled 3D geometries through shape design without changing the inner morphology of active bimorph biomaterials. In contrast to traditional organic‐soluble synthetic materials, we utilized a biocompatible and biodegradable biopolymer that underwent a facile aqueous layer‐by‐layer (LbL) assembly process for the fabrication of 2D films. The resulting films can undergo reversible pH‐triggered rolling/unrolling, with a variety of 3D structures forming from biopolymer structures that have identical morphology and composition.