Biomaterials implanted in the body evoke a “Foreign body response” which results in encapsulation of the material in a collagen-rich protein capsule. Fibroblast cells, which produce collagen, mediate this process that leads to biomaterial rejection / device failure in vivo. Surface nanotopography of BMGs can be used to engineer fibroblast-material interactions.

In work reported in Science (August 20, 2013) a Harvard MRSEC team led by Suo and Whitesides developed a transparent “ionic skin,” a sensor skin using ionic conductors. It senses signals with high stability and wide dynamic range, from a gentle touch of a finger to strains over 500%. The new ionic skin has attributes required for biocompatibility in medical devices and

A Harvard MRSEC team led by Clarke, Mooney, Parker, Suo, and Vlassak has developed new hydrogels that are both electrically responsive and mechanically tough. Poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels can be made to be macroporous and therefore capable of rapid

Nanoscale three-dimensional (3D) structures are building blocks for the fabrication of miniature switching devices and can be used as functional units in nanorobotics. The functionality of the 3D structures is affected by their size and shape and may significantly differ depending on the properties of the bulk material. Nebraska MRSEC researchers

Fracture energy of plaque/glass interface Gc ≈ 100 J/m2 104 × larger than Eadh of mfp5 (the most adhesive protein)!  

We are building a scanning probe microscope to study spin and charge on the nanoscale. The magnetic sensing element is a nitrogen-vacancy center (NV) in diamond, which should afford single electron spin sensitivity with 10 nm spatial resolution. Schematic of diamond-based scanning probe magnetometer Confocal fluorescence images showing relative locations of NV and Gd-functionalized tip

The industrial consortium coordinated by the Wisconsin MRSEC has grown to 20 to 25 members. The Wisconsin MRSEC has now partnered with the University of Wisconsin business school to develop strategies to expand further our impact on Wisconsin and regional industry. The business school study was conducted by three MBA students, all with industry experience. The MBA students interviewed

The wide range of instrumentation within the University of Wisconsin MRSEC Shared Instrumentation Facilities (UW-MRSEC SIF) can now be accessed by academic and industry users around the nation via the Materials Research Facilities Network (MFRN.org).   A Significant new addition over the past year is a Cameca LEAP 3000 Si ATOM Probe.

Creating aligned arrays of high purity (>99.9%) semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) over a large area has been a significant challenge in materials synthesis. Towards this goal, IRG2 have recently developed a novel yet simple method to deposit aligned s-SWCNTs on substrates via dose-controlled, floating evaporative self-assembly.  The diffusion