Biocompatible light-responsive metamaterials via patterned electrospinning Xia Huang 1 , Lei Wu¹, Martin Birchall², Wenhui Song 1 ¹Division of Surgery & Interventional Sciences, University College London, UK, ²Royal National Ear Nose and Throat and Eastman Dental Hospitals (UCLH NHS Foundation Trust) and University College London, UK There is a growing interest in active metamaterials that combine mechanical metamaterial designs with active control through stimuli-responsive materials. However, the application of such materials in biological settings is challenging due to the severe stimulus requirements and poor biocompatibility. Here, biocompatible liquid crystal poly(urea thiourethane) elastomer decorated with light-responsive chromophores was synthesized and electrospunned into patterned fiber mats with designed auxetic and non-auxetic topology. All prepared fiber materials exhibit reversible photoresponsive properties under blue light illumination, generating photomechanical stress ranging from 20 Kpa to 30 Kpa. Auxetic patches can address the limited elasticity range observed in conventional non-auxetic patch designs. Additionally, the topology of obtained fiber mats can regulate their mechanical and photomechanical properties, which enables their application in various scenarios as smart patches.
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