Chemo-responsive, self-oscillating gels that undergo biomimetic communication

Abstract

Species ranging from single-cell organisms to social insects can undergo auto-chemotaxis, where the entities move towards a chemo-attractant that they themselves emit. Polymer gels undergoing the self-oscillating Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction exhibit autonomous, periodic pulsations, which produce chemical species collectively referred to as the activator. The diffusion of this activator into the surrounding solution affects the dynamic behavior of neighboring BZ gels and hence, the BZ gels not only emit, but also respond to self-generated chemical gradients. This review describes recent experimental and computational studies that reveal how this biomimetic behavior effectively allows neighboring BZ gels to undergo cooperative, self-propelled motion. These distinctive properties of the BZ gels provide a route for creating reconfigurable materials that autonomously communicate with neighboring units and thereby actively participate in constructing the desired structures.

Designing Dual-functionalized Gels for Self-reconfiguration and Autonomous Motion

“…4, where R d = 30, the sample effectively reorients to “escape” from the illuminated areas and moves towards the dark region in the center. The latter behavior is similar to the response of pure BZ gels, which exhibit negative photo-taxis1718192930. These results indicate that the illuminated region must be above a critical size to drive the gel to undergo the robust out-of-plane bending (and subsequent directed motion).…”

CO2-responsive polymeric materials: synthesis, self-assembly, and functional applications

“…53 However, UV light is not an effective trigger for large scale applications because is decays rapidly at long distances or in media with large RI (refractive index) heterogeneity, or absorbance. 56 Redox-responsive polymers contain redox-responsive groups that respond to the addition of oxidants or reductants or applied potentials. 55 Chemo-responsive polymers are sensitive to chemical changes in the environment.…”

Modeling Stimuli-Induced Reconfiguration and Directed Motion of Responsive Gels

“…Here, Φ = 1.5 × 10 −3 , which is greater than the critical value that suppresses the oscillations. 44,49 Hence, under these conditions, an isolated cilium would not exhibit chemo-mechanical oscillations. In Fig.…”