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Self-oscillating polymer gel as novel biomimetic materials exhibiting spatiotemporal structure

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Abstract

As a novel biomimetic polymer gel, we have been studying polymer gel with an autonomous self-oscillating function since it was firstly reported in 1996. For developing the polymer gels, we utilized an oscillating chemical reaction, called the Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction, which is recognized as a chemical model for understanding several autonomous phenomena in biological systems. The self-oscillating polymer gel is composed of a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) network in which the metal catalyst for the BZ reaction is covalently immobilized. Under the coexistence of the reactants, the polymer undergoes spontaneous swelling–deswelling changes (in the case of gel) or cyclic soluble–insoluble changes (in the case of uncross-linked polymer) without any on–off switching of external stimuli. Several kinds of functional material systems utilizing the self-oscillating polymer and gel such as biomimetic actuators, mass transport surface, etc. are expected. Here, these recent progress on the self-oscillating polymer and gels and the design of functional material systems are summarized.

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Acknowledgment

The author thanks all my students in the laboratory and the collaborators on this research project, especially to the previous Postdoc and PhD students: Dr. Daisuke Suzuki (Shinshu University), Dr. Takamasa Sakai (Univ. of Tokyo), Dr. Yusuke Hara (AIST, Japan), Dr. Yasuhiro Maeda (NIMS, Japan), Dr. Kosuke Okeyoshi (University of Tokyo), Dr. Yoko Murase (Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., Japan), and Dr. Tomonaga Ueno (Nagoya University).

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  1. Department of Materials Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan

    Ryo Yoshida

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  1. Ryo Yoshida
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Correspondence to Ryo Yoshida.

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Yoshida, R. Self-oscillating polymer gel as novel biomimetic materials exhibiting spatiotemporal structure. Colloid Polym Sci 289, 475–487 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-010-2371-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-010-2371-y

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