Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 107, Issue 17, Pages 7652-7657Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0912481107
Keywords
nanocompsite; shape memory materials; thermal responsive materials
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [R01AR055615, R01GM088678]
- American Cancer Society [IRG 93-033]
- Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center [DK32520]
- National Center for Research Resources [S10 RR021043]
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Smart materials that can respond to external stimuli are of widespread interest in biomedical science. Thermal-responsive shape memory polymers, a class of intelligent materials that can be fixed at a temporary shape below their transition temperature (T-trans) and thermally triggered to resume their original shapes on demand, hold great potential as minimally invasive self-fitting tissue scaffolds or implants. The intrinsic mechanism for shape memory behavior of polymers is the freezing and activation of the long-range motion of polymer chain segments below and above T-trans, respectively. Both Ttrans and the extent of polymer chain participation in effective elastic deformation and recovery are determined by the network composition and structure, which are also defining factors for their mechanical properties, degradability, and bioactivities. Such complexity has made it extremely challenging to achieve the ideal combination of a T-trans slightly above physiological temperature, rapid and complete recovery, and suitable mechanical and biological properties for clinical applications. Here we report a shape memory polymer network constructed from a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane nanoparticle core functionalized with eight polyester arms. The cross-linked networks comprising this macromer possessed a gigapascal-storage modulus at body temperature and a T-trans between 42 and 48 degrees C. The materials could stably hold their temporary shapes for >1 year at room temperature and achieve full shape recovery <= 51 degrees C in a matter of seconds. Their versatile structures allowed for tunable biodegradability and biofunctionalizability. These materials have tremendous promise for tissue engineering applications.
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