Researchers from Aalto University and the University of Bayreuth have developed a new hydrogel with self-healing abilities that are similar to skin. These findings, published in Nature Materials, may lead to further developments in soft robotics, wound healing, artificial skin, and drug delivery.

Entanglement and UV

According to the study, besides the arrangement of the nanosheets, the arrangement of the polymers entangled between them helped create the gel. Once they were arranged, postdoctoral researcher Chen Liang mixed water containing the nanosheets with a powder of monomers. Liang then baked the mixture under a UV light, similar to those used for setting gel nail polish on a manicure or pedicure.

“The UV-radiation from the lamp causes the individual molecules to bind together so that everything becomes an elastic solid – a gel,” Liang said in a press release.

The gel was then cut with a knife, and after four hours, the research team noted that the gel was about 80 to 90 percent self-healed. After 24 hours, the team found that the gel was 100 percent repaired