New photo-responsive hydrogels developed with eye on biomedical applications

3-D printed, transplantable organs may sound like science fiction, but, thanks to advances in polymer chemistry, they could become a reality. Stimuli-responsive hydrogels represent a broad class of soft materials that change their mechanical properties when certain external triggers are applied. Last year researchers from the lab of Jonathan Barnes, assistant professor of chemistry, created a new kind of artificial molecular muscle from a polymer that changes color and contracts when exposed to blue light. Similar materials promise a wide range of applications, particularly in medicine.