Phys.org August 2, 2022 Researchers in Taiwan harvested dragline spider silk from the giant wood spider Nephila pilipes, which is native to Taiwan. They enveloped the silk, which is just 10 microns in diameter, with a biocompatible photocurable resin and cured it to form a smooth protective surface creating an optical fiber structure that was 100 microns in diameter, with the spider silk acting as the core and the resin as the cladding. They added a biocompatible nano-layer of gold to enhance the fiber’s sensing abilities. This process formed a thread-like structure with two ends. To use the fiber to […]
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Self-repairing gelatin-based film could be a smart move for electronics
Phys.org December 2, 2020 Self-repairing films have been developed, but most only work a single time, and some are made with potentially harmful agents that curtail their use in biomedical applications. Researchers in Taiwan mixed gelatin and glucose to create a flexible film that they sandwiched between conductive material to simulate an electronic device. After bending the simulated electronic device, the team saw breaks in the gelatin-glucose film disappear within three hours at room temperature and within 10 minutes when warmed to 140 F. Gelatin without glucose did not self-repair under the same conditions. The glucose-based gelatin also transferred an […]