Nanotechnology

One-step high-speed thermoelectric aerosol printing of piezoelectric bio-organic membranes

Schematic diagram of a thermoelectric aerosol (TEA) printer. Credit: Li Xuemu

As the demand for bioMEMS, wearable/implantable electronics, and biological tissue therapeutics continues to soar, the pursuit of piezoelectric biomaterials has become a priority thanks to their excellent electromechanical properties, biocompatibility, and bioresorbability. I am.

However, its technical potential is limited by the challenges of precise manipulation of nanobiomolecules, control of growth across the nano-to-macro hierarchy, and tuning of desired mechanical properties.

Since the discovery of biological piezoelectricity in wool and hair in 1941, attempts to activate piezoelectricity in biomaterials by external electrical poling have proven largely unsuccessful. For 80 years, this challenge has remained unresolved, creating a large gap between laboratory piezoelectric biomaterials and practical biodevices.

Our research team, led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has developed a breakthrough technology to create flexible piezoelectric biofilms using thermoelectrically induced aerosols. The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

TEA printing process. Credit: Li Xuemu

The developed thermoelectric aerosol (TEA) printer is capable of one-step high-speed roll-to-roll printing of piezoelectric biofilms for manufacturing small/flexible bioelectronics, wearable/implantable microdevices, and biological tissues. Therapeutic agents offer the potential for industrial production of piezoelectric biofilms.

The combination of top-down design freedom afforded by additive manufacturing and bottom-up control of nanobiomolecules offers endless possibilities and possibilities to bridge the gap between laboratory piezoelectric biomaterials and practical biodevices. is shown.

Traditional biomolecular assembly methods often require long self-alignment times (from about 0.5 h to about 48 h), which not only makes high-speed fabrication difficult but also introduces undesirable structural defects.

In contrast, TEA printers using electrohydrodynamic aerosolization and in-situ electrical poling enable print lengths of approximately 8,600 mm per day, two orders of magnitude faster than existing technologies.

Scientists develop thermoelectric aerosol printer for 3D roll-to-roll piezoelectric biofilm printing for biodevices

Photographs of rolls of glycine film (A, B) and scheme of wireless ultrasound energy transfer through tissue with implanted glycine-based devices for biopower generation and optogenetics (CE). Credit: Li Xuemu

The glycine/polyvinylpyrrolidone film produced by us exhibits a piezoelectric voltage coefficient of 190 × 10−3 voltmeters/Newton, which is approximately 10 higher than that of the widely used industry standard lead zirconate titanate. It’s more than double that. Additionally, these films demonstrate nearly two orders of magnitude improvement in mechanical flexibility compared to glycine crystals.

Our TEA printers exhibit printing capabilities for a wide range of classes of biomaterials, including glycine, chitosan, and poly(L-lactic acid). The next phase of research will focus on leveraging TEA printing and piezoelectric biomaterial libraries and machine learning-based design strategies to accelerate the development of a wide range of piezoelectric biomaterials for flexible bioelectronics and biological tissue treatment. .

This story is part of the Science X Dialog, where researchers can report findings from published research papers. To learn more about Science X Dialog and how to participate, visit this page.

Further information: Xuemu Li et al, One-step fast thermoelectric aerosol printing of piezoelectric bioorganic films for wireless powering bioelectronics, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adq3195

Li Xuemu is currently a postdoctoral researcher in mechanical engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). His research interests include advanced manufacturing, piezoelectrics/ferroelectrics, biomaterials, flexible electronics and soft robotics, biomedical engineering, MEMS, sensors, energy harvesting, and ultrasound transducers.

Citation: One-Step High-Speed ​​Thermoelectric Aerosol Printing of Piezoelectric Bio-Organic Films (November 11, 2024) Retrieved November 11, 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-11-high-thermal- aerosol-piezoelectric.html

This document is subject to copyright. No part may be reproduced without written permission, except in fair dealing for personal study or research purposes. Content is provided for informational purposes only.

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