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Cover Image, Volume 131, Issue 22
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.41131
Subject(s) - cover (algebra) , microfiber , polymer science , biocompatible material , computer science , polyacrylamide , polymer , nanotechnology , materials science , computer graphics (images) , composite material , polymer chemistry , biomedical engineering , mechanical engineering , engineering
Cross‐linked polyacrylamide hydrogel is a biocompatible actuating and sensing polyelectrolyte that adapts and responds to physicochemical, electrical, and biochemical stimulations. The main problem of polyacrylamide actuators is their prohibitively slow actuation rate. Maria Bassil, Judy AL Moussawel, Michael Ibrahim, Georges Azzi, and Mario El Tahchi fabricate well‐aligned and covalently crosslinked hydrogel microfibers. The microfiber "muscle‐like actuators" are biocompatible, non‐biodegradable, and present tunable electroactivity and instantaneous response time. They replicate the small scales of the muscle sarcomeres that can achieve fast response. The cover shows a SEM picture of the swollen smart hydrogel microfiber. DOI: 10.1002/app.41092