#shape memory polymer

In Stents

Hydrogels are gloopy polymers capable of storing liquids – often they’re biocompatible, at home inside the human body, with tremendous potential for delivering drugs. Here a new 3D-printing technique uses blasts of UV light to stick or 'cure' a shape memory polymer (yellow) to a red-coloured hydrogel in precise patterns. This twisted mesh is a prototype for a new type of stent, similar to those routinely used to prop open damaged blood vessels, only with a few surprises. First, the hydrogel isn’t red at all, but carrying a red-coloured dye. Inside an artificial blood vessel, over a period of three hours, the stent opens up as the shape memory polymer expands in the 37-degree heat, expanding a scaffold inside the collapsed vessel, but also prompting the hydrogel to release its cargo – which may one day be life-supporting chemicals.

Written by John Ankers

Image from work by Qi Ge & Zhe Chen, et al Dept of Mechanical & Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen

and State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic System, Key Laboratory of Soft Machines ad Smart Devices of Zhejiang Province, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Science Advances, January 2021

Shelby L Buffington and James Henderson. Credit: Syracuse University

By Idha Valeur 

A new shape memory polymer (SMP) that could have an impact on the health care industry, has been developed by researchers from the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University, USA.  

Due to their ability to change shape with triggers such as light or a rise in temperature, make the soft, rubbery material suitable for numerous biomedical applications. An example is the use as cardiovascular stents as they can be a certain shape upon insertion, and then another when positioned in the blood vessel. The change of shape is aided by the patient’s body warmth.

Researchers from Syracuse University, in collaboration with Bucknell University, USA, have created an SMP able to change shape when subjected to enzymes, with no other trigger needed. This gives the SMP the ability to act according to cellular activity, such as healing.

Syracuse University biomedical engineering PhD candidate Shelby L Buffington said, ‘The enzymatic sensitivity of the material allows it to respond directly to cell behaviour. For instance, you could place it over a wound, and as the tissue remodelled and degraded it, the SMP would slowly pull the wound closed. It could be adapted to play a role in treating infections and cancer by adjusting the material's chemistry.’

Using dual electrospinning, where a high-voltage current gets applied to two needle tips that pump two different polymer solutions, the polymer fibres gets drawn out by the voltage, and get blended into a fibre polymer mat. A proper combination of the fibres provides the shape memory quality of the material.

Currently, the team is testing the new SMP in cancer and macrophage cell cultures. The aim is to find uses for the material using a lower concentration of enzymes.

‘We anticipate that the materials we're developing could have broad application in health care. For example, our SMPs could be used in drugs that only activate when the target cells or organ are in the desired physiological state, in scaffolds that guide tissue regeneration in response to the behaviour of the regenerating tissue itself, and in decision-making biosensors that guide patient treatment more effectively,’ said Syracuse University professor James H Henderson.

4D Printing -Will it be a Game-Changer? by Kallol Mohanta in Crimson Publishers: Peer Reviewed Material Science Journals 

Manborui Material Technology, the industry leader in innovative application of shape memory polymer, has recently launched an anti-counterfeiting packaging technology, which is developed in Cooperation with Tianjin New & Special Printing Co., Ltd- This new line is called SMP Tamper - that enables SMP security label to be not just an exclusive anti-counterfeit label,but also a tamper evidence label.

The new line is designed for tamper-evidence applications, made by exclusive SMP(Shape Memory Polymers) label film, with much higher security level than the ordinary tamper evidence label.

Guangzhou, April. 15, 2011 -- Manborui Material Technology, the industry leader in innovative shape memory security lables, today announced that it has been granted a patent from PCT(Patent Cooperation Treaty)for its innovative shape memory polymer based technology. The PCT Patent No.  PCT/CN2010/080101, was granted April 5, 2012 for a "METHOD FOR PRODUCING SHAPE MEMORY ANTI-COUNTERFEITING IDENTIFIER" Shape memory polymers are advanced materials that can "remember" more than one shape and transition easily between those shapes with minimal force and without loss of mechanical integrity. Shape-changing polymer anti-counterfeiting identifier(so-called security labels) offer advantages over traditional security lables. Shape memory polymer technologies involved in SMP label film, enable the security labels have the ability to store certain covert embossed pattern/massage inside, for end user to check and verify very easily. SMP label film manufactured from shape memory polymer have already been cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration for food grade use. "This latest issued patent is a key addition to our intellectual property portfolio and serves to consolidate the leadership position created by Manborui Material Technology in the field of shape memory  anti-counterfeiting identifier," stated Zhang, Ph.D., General Manager "Manborui has successfully introduced new shape memory polymer security label film that will add value onto traditional security labels. This patent recognizes the proprietary nature of our platform technology and is a testament to Manborui's world class research and development team." About  Manborui Material Technology: Manborui is a high-tech enterprise, which combines research, design, production and sales. We focus on development and application of new polymer materials, we have R & D team with 12 years of experience in the Shape Memory Polymer development field, and it is our expertise to develop and produce Shape Memory Polymers which activate at low/medium temperrature, we have in-depth knowledge about the FDA approved SMP material for medical grade standard. For more information visit www.china-mbr.com.

SMP label film is a special label film for security labels in rolls or sheets, it is completely new, PCT patented, and exclusive in the world.