Stimuli Responsive Shape Memory Microarchitectures

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) respond to heat by generating programmable movement in devices that require substantial deformation and operate at transient temperatures, including stents and embolization coils. To enable their use in small-scale applications like retinal vasculature stenting, shape transformations must occur in SMPs with complex 3D geometries with nanoscale features. This work describes the synthesis and sculpting of a benzyl methacrylate-based SMP into 3D structures with <800 nm characteristic critical dimensions via two photon lithography. Dynamic nanomechanical analysis of 8 mu m-diameter cylindrical pillars reveal the initiation of this SMP's glass transition at 60 degrees C. Shape memory programming of the characterized pillars as well as complex 3D architectures, including flowers with 500 nm thick petals and cubic lattices with 2.5 mu m unit cells and overall dimensions of 4.5 mu m x 4.5 mu m x 10 mu m, demonstrate an 86 +/- 4% characteristic shape recovery ratio. These results reveal a pathway toward SMP devices with nanoscale features and arbitrary 3D geometries changing shape in response to temperature.

Automated summary

The research focuses on utilizing benzyl methacrylate-based SMPs to create 3D structures with shape transformation capabilities through two photon lithography. The structures exhibit features such as 500 nm thick petals and 2.5 µm unit cells in cubic lattices.