Advanced Science
·
2024
·Vol. 11
·期 41
·2405544
·
IF 14.3
Kejun Wang,Siyuan Chen,Guanyu Bao,Tao Sun,Junqiu Zhang,Daobing Chen,Lining Sun,Zhiwu Han,Chao Liu,Qian Wang
Numerous plants evolve ingeniously microcantilever-based hairs to ultra-sensitively detect out-of-plane quasi-static tactile loads, providing a natural blueprint for upgrading the industrial static mode microcantilever sensors, but how do the biological sensory hairs work mechanically? Here, the action potential-producing trigger hairs of carnivorous Venus flytraps ( Dionaea muscipula ) are investigated in detail from biomechanical perspective. Under tiny mechanical stimulation, the deformable trigger hair, composed of distal stiff lever and proximal flexible podium, will lead to rapid trap closure and prey capture. The multiple features determining the sensitivity such as conical morphology, multi-scale functional structures, kidney-shaped sensory cells, and combined deformation under tiny mechanical stimulation are comprehensively researched. Based on materials mechanics, finite element simulation, and bio-inspired original artificial sensors, it is verified that the omnidirectional ultra-sensitivity of trigger hair is attributed to the stiff-flexible coupling of material, the double stress concentration, the circular distribution of sensory cells, and the positive local buckling. Also, the balance strategy of slender hair between sensitivity and structural stability (i.e., avoiding disastrous collapse) is detailed revealed. The unique basic biomechanical mechanism underlying trigger hairs is essential for significantly enhancing the performance of the traditional industrial static mode microcantilever sensors, and ensure the stability of arbitrary load perception.
研究领域:
植物学
·
生物力学
·
传感器技术
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Nano Research
·
2023
·Vol. 16
·期 7
·10198-10205
·
IF 9.9
Hou Zhiliang,Li Xuebiao,Zhang Xinru,Zhang Wendong,Wang Zhong Lin,Zhang Hulin
Because of its adaptive interfacial property, soft sensors/actuators can be used to perform more delicate tasks than their rigid counterparts. However, plant epidermis with a waxy cuticle layer challenges stable and high-fidelity non-invasive electrophysiology since the conventional electrodes are invasive, easily detached from plants, and require complicated setup procedures. Here, we report a bioinspired sensor and actuator created by using a conformable electrode interface as an electrical modulation unit on a Venus flytrap. Our conformable electrode, by employing an adhesive hydrogel layer, can achieve the merits of low impedance, stretchable, biocompatible, reusable, and transparent enough for normal chlorophyll activity to occur. Owing to the high sensitivity of a flytrap to a triggering mechanical stimulation, a plant sensor matrix based on flytraps has been demonstrated by capturing the stimulated action potential (AP) signals from upper epidermis, which can orient honeybee colonies by their touch during collecting nectar. Moreover, via frequency-dependent AP modulation, an autonomous on-demand actuation on a flytrap is realized. The flytrap actuator can be controlled to responsively grasp tiny objects by the modulated signals triggered by a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). This work paves a way of developing autonomous plant-based sensors and actuators toward smart agriculture and intelligent robots.
研究领域:
植物生理学
·
生物医学工程
·
智能材料
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Nano-Micro Letters
·
2022
·Vol. 14
·期 1
·1-13
·
IF 23.655
Wei Junjie,Li Rui,Li Long,Wang Wenqin,Chen Tao
Stimuli-responsive hydrogel is regarded as one of the most promising smart soft materials for the next-generation advanced technologies and intelligence robots, but the limited variety of stimulus has become a non-negligible issue restricting its further development. Herein, we develop a new stimulus of “touch” (i.e., spatial contact with foreign object) for smart materials and propose a flytrap-inspired touch-responsive polymeric hydrogel based on supersaturated salt solution, exhibiting multiple responsive behaviors in crystallization, heat releasing, and electric signal under touch stimulation. Furthermore, utilizing flytrap-like cascade response strategy, a soft actuator with touch-responsive actuation is fabricated by employing the touch-responsive hydrogel and the thermo-responsive hydrogel. This investigation provides a facile and versatile strategy to design touch-responsive smart materials, enabling a profound potential application in intelligence areas.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物仿生学
·
智能机器人
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
TEXTILE RESEARCH JOURNAL
·
2024
·
IF 1.6
Li-Yan Liu,Guo-Hua Liu,Bing-Bing Shou,Ting-Ting Li,Hai-Tao Ren,Jia-Horng Lin,Ching-Wen Lou,Yu-Man Xu
The human body in a hot environment or during intense training will sweat a lot. Traditional cotton fabrics are soft and breathable, but they tend to absorb moisture easily and evaporate it slowly, which makes people feel cold and wet. Sweat staying on fabrics for a long time could also cause bacteria to grow. Thus, it is necessary to transport the excessive sweat from the gathering section to the collection points along the surface paths in time to minimize such problems. The mechanism of directional water transport of desert beetles, cacti, nepenthes, and river meanders was referenced in this paper. The paths in dot, tree, V-shape, and river meander patterns were designed and manufactured from the inspiration of these natural architectures. The paths were coated on the surfaces of selected knitted fabrics with different structures through a one-step coating process. The optimal recipe of hydrophobic solution was determined when 0.1 g hydroxyethyl-cellulose (HEC) was added into MS-S002 solution. The results showed that sweat movement is mainly influenced by FL, FWD, FG, and knitted structure. The continuous and enclosed paths such as tree and river contribute to a better sweat moving track than those of dot and V-shape ones. Terry structure is more suitable for surface sweat transport than plain and pique. The highest movement speed of the terry structure with a tree pattern reaches 0.43 cm/s, followed by that of the terry structure with river pattern 0.35 cm/s. The coated fabrics also have ideal moisture and air permeability for wearing.
研究领域:
纺织科学
·
生物仿生学
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
IONICS
·
2020
·Vol. 26
·期 12
·6371-6378
·
IF 2.394
Xu Haoyan,Han Chuanlong,Liu Sicheng,Hao Xin,Rao Yu,Gong Zexin,Sun Zhuangzhi
Due to the efficiency of ion movement is greatly affected by moisture environment, this article explores the effects of the changing the moisture content of the self-degraded ionic hydrogel-based electrolyte layer made of sodium alginate and chitosan on the improvement of the electromechanical properties of the soft ionic actuator. Specifically, sodium alginate-chitosan ionic hydrogel-based soft ionic actuator is fabricated and analyzed by voltammetry analysis, AC impedance, charge and discharge, electrical conductivity, displacement, and output force. Furthermore, the further application of this soft ionic actuator on bionic flytrap is developed and discussed. The results show that soft ionic actuator with the moisture content of 78.64% has the best electromechanical properties. Furthermore, soft ionic actuators with different moisture contents show different degrees of deflection due to the shift of the anions to the cathode under charged conditions. Therefore, it can be found that moisture content is beneficial to improve the electromechanical properties of ionic hydrogel-based soft artificial muscle.
研究领域:
生物材料学
·
生物医学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
·
2023
·
IF 6.1
Mingyang Li,Xiaoyu Zhang,Yiwen Zhu,Xiancheng Zhang,Zhiyong Cui,Ninglong Zhang,Yue Sun,Zhiying Yang,Wenli Wang,Cunli Wang,Yin Zhang,Yuan Liu,Guangyan Qing
Umami peptides are small molecular weight oligopeptides that play a role in umami taste attributes. However, the identification of umami peptides is easily limited by environmental conditions, and the abundant source and high chromatographic separation efficiency remain difficult. Herein, we report a robust strategy based on a phage random linear heptapeptide library that targets the T1R1-Venus flytrap domain (T1R1-VFT). Two candidate peptides (MTLERPW and MNLHLSF) were readily identified with high affinity for T1R1-VFT binding (KD of MW-7 and MF-7 were 790 and 630 nM, respectively). The two peptides exhibited umami taste and significantly enhanced the umami intensity when added to the monosodium glutamate solution. Overall, this strategy shows that umami peptides could be developed via phage display technology for the first time. The phage display platform has a promising application to discover other taste peptides with affinity for taste receptors of interest and has more room for improvement in the future.
研究领域:
生物化学
·
分子生物学
·
食品科学
·
味觉感知
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
·
2022
·
IF 10.383
Ruijie Wang,Fan Jin,Yufen Li,Xiaoyan Yu,Hua Lai,Yuyan Liu,Zhongjun Cheng
Recently, research about controllable droplet transportation in tubes has aroused increased interest. However, existing strategies mainly depend on the elastic tube’s shape variation that needs constant external stimuli. Meanwhile, these reported tubes are only suitable for wetting liquids. To achieve the transportation of diverse liquids, different coatings are needed to modify the tube’s inner surface to realize complete wetting of different liquids. Herein, we advance a design principle by combining a shape memory polymer (SMP) tube and Nepenthes pitcher plant-inspired slippery surface, which can solve the above-mentioned problems. The SMP offers a tunable tube shape owing to its shape memory effect (SME); the slippery surface reduces the adhesion and expands the applicable range of liquids. Transportation of both water and oils in a wide range of surface tension values can be smartly controlled. The results show that not only the transportation speed and direction can be adjusted but also diverse modes including round-trip transportation, segmented transportation, and antigravity transportation can be achieved. Moreover, applications of the tube in batch inspection of different droplets and step-by-step control of multiple microreactions are also displayed. This work reports a strategy for droplet transportation control based on the tube’s SME, which initiates some fresh ideas for designing new superwetting materials toward smart liquid transportation.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
流体力学
·
仿生学
·
微流控技术
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Nanoscale
·
2025
·
IF 5.1
Li Zeng,Yuan Li,Qichao Li,Yiping Guo
Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has attracted extensive attention for flexible piezoelectric strain sensors due to its piezoelectric activity and mechanical robustness. However, practical application in small-strain monitoring occasions remains restricted by limitations such as low intrinsic piezoelectricity. Inspired by the mechanical structure of Venus flytrap's trigger hairs, this study synergistically combines modulus differentiation mechanisms with a coaxial architecture to develop core–shell nanofibers. The fiber structure comprises a rigid Polyamide 66 (PA66) core, a flexible PVDF sensing layer as the outer shell, and polydopamine-modified BaTiO3 nanoparticles (PBTO) distributed within the outer sheath. These bioinspired fibers feature a radial stiffness-flexibility combination to achieve directional stress transmission. The modified nanofiber membrane achieves an 840% enhancement in voltage output compared to pure PVDF, demonstrating bending sensitivity of Gauge Factor (GF) 221.4 and only 0.67% signal attenuation over 12 000 cyclic tests. Leveraging this amplification mechanism, the core–shell nanofibers have been engineered into bending vector sensors capable of discerning wind velocity magnitude and directional parameters. This approach shows potential for optimizing unmanned aerial vehicle flight trajectories to enhance operational efficiency.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
纳米技术
·
传感器
·
生物力学
·
柔性电子
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
·
2024
·
IF 18.5
Ganguang Yang,Zhaogang Lan,Hangyu Gong,Jiacheng Wen,Bo Pang,Yuqi Qiu,Yue Zhang,Wei Guo,Tianzhao Bu,Bin Xie,Hao Wu
Collecting electrophysiological (EP) signals (e.g., electrocardiogram (ECG), electromyogram (EMG)) during exercises is crucial for feedback of cardiac health and muscle injuries. However, since several interferences exist in the skin interface (e.g., deformation, perspiration, and motion artifacts), commercial rigid electrodes/systems have difficulty in recording high-fidelity EP signals. Here, a wireless Nepenthes -inspired hydrogel (NIH) hybrid system is developed for high-quality EP signal detection by establishing seamless-integrated and rapidly directional sweat-wicking device/skin interfaces during exercises. The adhesive strength of poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid) (PVA/PAAC)-based double-network hydrogels is significantly increased by more than sixfolds. Nepenthes -inspired microstructures are further fabricated on hydrogels to enhance the directional transport speed of droplets by 4.5 times. Notably, the NIH electrodes can maintain an intimate coupling with the skin during continuous artificial sweat injection while showing the lowest impedance and highest signal-to-noise ratio (>19 dB) of EMG signals under complex conditions (i.e., vibration and perspiration). Finally, the NIH hybrid system is fabricated by decorating silicone joints and hollow structures to avoid stress concentration. This system can record high-quality ECG waveforms and heart rate curves with relative deviations of <2.6% during exercises and rest. This NIH hybrid system represents a promising platform for precise EP signal monitoring in exercising scenarios.
研究领域:
生物医学工程
·
材料科学
·
可穿戴技术
·
电生理学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Science Advances
·
2022
·Vol. 8
·期 15
·
IF 14.957
Chen Yu Li,Si Yu Zheng,Xing Peng Hao,Wei Hong,Qiang Zheng,Zi Liang Wu
Venus flytrap and bladderwort, capable of rapid predation through a snapping transition, have inspired various designs of soft actuators and robots with fast actions. These designs, in contrast to their natural counterparts, often require a direct force or pressurization. Here, we report a bistable domal hydrogel structure capable of spontaneous and reversible snapping under an electric field. Unlike a mechanical force, the electric field does not drive the gel directly. Instead, it redistributes mobile ions that direct the migration of water molecules and bends the polyelectrolyte hydrogel. Subject to constraint from surrounding neutral gel, the elastic energy accumulates until suddenly released by snapping, just like the process in natural organisms. Several proof-of-concept examples, including an optical switch, a speedy catcher, and a pulse pump, are designed to demonstrate the versatile functionalities of this unit capable of articulate motion. This work should bring opportunities to devise soft robotics, biomedical devices, etc.
研究领域:
软体机器人
·
生物医学工程
·
材料科学
·
电化学
·
仿生学
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）