Lanthanide-based luminescent hybrid materials.

A review of shape memory alloy research, applications and opportunities

Shape-memory polymers (SMPs) have attracted significant attention from both industrial and academic researchers due to their useful and fascinating functionality. This review thoroughly examines progress in shape-memory polymers, including the very recent past, achieved by numerous groups around the world and our own research group. Considering all of the shape-memory polymers reviewed, we identify a classification scheme wherein nearly all SMPs may be associated with one of four classes in accordance with their shape fixing and recovering mechanisms and as dictated by macromolecular details. We discuss how the described shape-memory polymers show great potential for diverse applications, including in the medical arena, sensors, and actuators.

http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/srdesign/2009/group8/Papers/shape%20memory%20polymers%20review%20article.pdf

Review of progress in shape-memory polymers

Shape-memory polymers

The application of liposomes to assist drug delivery has already had a major impact on many biomedical areas. They have been shown to be beneficial for stabilizing therapeutic compounds, overcoming obstacles to cellular and tissue uptake, and improving biodistribution of compounds to target sites in vivo. This enables effective delivery of encapsulated compounds to target sites while minimizing systemic toxicity. Liposomes present as an attractive delivery system due to their flexible physicochemical and biophysical properties, which allow easy manipulation to address different delivery considerations. Despite considerable research in the last 50 years and the plethora of positive results in preclinical studies, the clinical translation of liposome assisted drug delivery platforms has progressed incrementally. In this review, we will discuss the advances in liposome assisted drug delivery, biological challenges that still remain, and current clinical and experimental use of liposomes for biomedical applications. The translational obstacles of liposomal technology will also be presented.

/pdf/advances-and-challenges-of-liposome-assisted-drug-delivery-icfpw75u2e.pdf

Advances and Challenges of Liposome Assisted Drug Delivery.

We demonstrate the new features of a polyurethane shape memory polymer: water-driven actuation and recovery in sequence (i.e., programmable). Hydrogen bonding is identified as the reason behind these features. In addition, the absorbed water is quantitatively separated into two parts, namely, the free water and bound water. Their individual contribution on the glass transition temperature is identified.

Water-driven programmable polyurethane shape memory polymer: Demonstration and mechanism

Effects of moisture on the thermomechanical properties of a polyurethane shape memory polymer

A novel multi-frequency energy harvester has been designed and fabricated, which consists of three permanent magnets, three sets of two-layer copper coils and a supported beam of acrylic, while these coils are made of thin fire resistant 4 (FR4) substrates using a standard printed circuit board. The energy under the first, second and third resonant modes can be harvested, corresponding to the resonant frequencies of 369 Hz, 938 Hz and 1184 Hz, respectively. The maximum output voltage and power of the first and second vibration modes are 1.38 mV, 0.6 µW and 3.2 mV, 3.2 µW for a 14 µm exciting vibration amplitude and a 0.4 mm gap between the magnet and coils, respectively. The feasibility study results are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations and show promising application potentials.

/pdf/electromagnetic-energy-harvesting-from-vibrations-of-1ew5ducyu0.pdf

Electromagnetic energy harvesting from vibrations of multiple frequencies

The polyurethane shape-memory polymer (SMP) developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, Japan is not only thermo-responsive, but also moisture-responsive as recently found. The moisture-responsive ability atop the well-known thermo-responsive feature could open a new dimension for applications of this fantastic material. This paper presents a concise review of the thermo- and moisture-responsive properties and thermomechanical behaviors of this SMP and its composites, and potential applications utilizing these features, in particular in biomedical engineering.

Bin Yang

Papers

Water-driven programmable polyurethane shape memory polymer: Demonstration and mechanism

Effects of moisture on the thermomechanical properties of a polyurethane shape memory polymer

Electromagnetic energy harvesting from vibrations of multiple frequencies

Thermo-moisture responsive polyurethane shape-memory polymer and composites: a review

Flexible PVDF based piezoelectric nanogenerators