title: Self-(Un)rolling Biopolymer Microstructures: Rings, Tubules, and Helical Tubules from the Same Material.
abstract: We have demonstrated the facile formation of reversible and fast self-rolling biopolymer microstructures from sandwiched active-passive, silk-on-silk materials. Both experimental and modeling results confirmed that the shape of individual sheets effectively controls biaxial stresses within these sheets, which can self-roll into distinct 3D structures including microscopic rings, tubules, and helical tubules. This is a unique example of tailoring self-rolled 3D geometries through shape design without changing the inner morphology of active bimorph biomaterials. In contrast to traditional organic-soluble synthetic materials, we utilized a biocompatible and biodegradable biopolymer that underwent a facile aqueous layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly process for the fabrication of 2D films. The resulting films can undergo reversible pH-triggered rolling/unrolling, with a variety of 3D structures forming from biopolymer structures that have identical morphology and composition.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 (USA).
authors.forename: Chunhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: Svetoslav V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Nikolov
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4, Colby street, Medford, MA 02155 (USA).
authors.forename: Rossella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calabrese
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dindar
authors.affiliation: Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alexeev
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kippelen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4, Colby street, Medford, MA 02155 (USA).
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 (USA). Vladimir@mse.gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Vladimir V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Tsukruk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D047011:Silk
keywords: biomaterials; biopolymers; layer-by-layer assembly; microstructures; silk