Intellectual Merit:
The ability to modify on demand the viscoelastic properties of hydrogels through the use of an externally applied stimulus such as light remains a challenge.
MIT MRSEC researchers have developed stimuli-responsive hydrogel materials that can change their mechanical properties upon exposure to light. This light induced effect can change the stiffness of the network by up to 100,000 times. Insights generated from these studies will aid in the development of programmable hydrogels with specific stress-relaxing or energy-dissipating properties.
Broader Impact:
The demonstrated ability to switch on demand, pre-programmed viscoelastic properties of hydrogel materials could have broad impact on biomedical materials engineering. For example, this technology will allow for the development of 3D printable hydrogels with programmable viscoelastic properties needed in synthetic tissue engineering.
