title: Soft network composite materials with deterministic and bio-inspired designs.
abstract: Hard and soft structural composites found in biology provide inspiration for the design of advanced synthetic materials. Many examples of bio-inspired hard materials can be found in the literature; far less attention has been devoted to soft systems. Here we introduce deterministic routes to low-modulus thin film materials with stress/strain responses that can be tailored precisely to match the non-linear properties of biological tissues, with application opportunities that range from soft biomedical devices to constructs for tissue engineering. The approach combines a low-modulus matrix with an open, stretchable network as a structural reinforcement that can yield classes of composites with a wide range of desired mechanical responses, including anisotropic, spatially heterogeneous, hierarchical and self-similar designs. Demonstrative application examples in thin, skin-mounted electrophysiological sensors with mechanics precisely matched to the human epidermis and in soft, hydrogel-based vehicles for triggered drug release suggest their broad potential uses in biomedical devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Kyung-In
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Ha Uk
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.identifier: 0000000231204992
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Chi Hwan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Engineering and Health and Skin Disease Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
authors.forename: Haiwen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Jaewoong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Engineering and Health and Skin Disease Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
authors.forename: Huanyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Gwang-Tae
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA [2] Samsung Display Co. Display R&D Center, Yongin-city, Gyeongki-do 446-711, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Youn
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA [2] Department of Material Science and Engineering, Department of Energy Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA [2] Department of Material Science and Engineering, Department of Energy Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeonghyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Moongee
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Engineering and Health and Skin Disease Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA [2] Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
authors.forename: Fuxing
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Yiyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Han Na
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flavin
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Gil Woo
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Ki Jun
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Sang Il
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Jeahoon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Byunggik
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Jean Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA [2] School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 689-798, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Myoung Hee
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 689-798, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic Engineering, Biomedical Research Institute, Pusan National University, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Material Science and Engineering, Department of Energy Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ungyu
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Engineering and Health and Skin Disease Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA [2] Center for Mechanics and Materials, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yihui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Engineering and Health and Skin Disease Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
authors.forename: Yonggang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D040761:Biomimetic Materials; D032701:Biomimetics; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004581:Electronics; D004594:Electrophysiology; D004817:Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006244:Hardness; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry; D007094:Imides / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D012867:Skin; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013718:Tensile Strength; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels; D007094:Imides