Self-Healing Silicone Elastomer with Stable and High Adhesion in Harsh Environments

Therapeutic biliary stents: applications and opportunities

INTRODUCTION

Biliary stents are used to optimize ductal patency and enable bile flow in the management of obstruction or injury related to biliary tract tumors, strictures, stones, or leaks. Although direct therapeutic applications of biliary stents are less well developed, stents can be used to deliver drugs, radioisotopes, and photodynamic therapy.

AREAS COVERED

This report provides an in-depth overview of the clinical indications, and therapeutic utility of biliary stents. Unique considerations for the design of biliary stents are described. The properties and functionalities of materials used for stents such as metal alloys, plastic polymers, or biodegradable materials are described, and opportunities for design of future stents are outlined. Current and potential applications of stents for therapeutic applications for biliary tract diseases are described.

EXPERT OPINION

Therapeutic biliary stents could be used to minimize inflammation, prevent stricture formation, reduce infections, or provide localized anti-cancer therapy for biliary tract cancers. Stents could be transformed into therapeutic platforms using advanced materials, 3D printing, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence. Whilst clinical study and validation will be required for adoption, future advances in stent design and materials are expected to expand the use of therapeutic biliary stents for the treatment of biliary tract disorders.

3D Printing Self-Healing and Self-Adhesive Elastomers for Wearable Electronics in Amphibious Environments

To meet the demands of challenging usage scenarios, there is an increasing need for flexible electronic skins that can operate properly not only in terrestrial environments but also extend to complex aquatic conditions. In this study, we develop an elastomer by incorporating dynamic urea bonds and hydrogen bonds into the polydimethylsiloxane backbone, which exhibits excellent autonomous self-healing and reversible adhesive performance in both dry and wet environments. A multifunctional flexible sensor with excellent sensing stability, amphibious self-healing capacity, and amphibious self-adhesive performance is fabricated through solvent-free 3D printing. The sensor has a high sensing sensitivity (GF = 45.1) and a low strain response threshold (0.25%) and can be used to detect small human movements and physiological activities, such as muscle movement, joint movement, respiration, and heartbeat. The wireless wearable sensing system assembled by coupling this device with a bluetooth transmission system is suitable for monitoring strenuous human movement in amphibious environments, such as playing basketball, cycling, running (terrestrial environments), and swimming (aquatic environments). The design strategy provides insights into enhancing the self-healing and self-adhesive properties of soft materials and promises a prospective avenue for fabricating flexible electronic skin that can work properly in amphibious environments.

A review of modification methods, joints and self-healing methods of adhesive for aerospace

In recent years, the adhesive technology has been widely used in the production of high-strength joins and precise positioning of various materials, such as metals, glass and composite materials. The adhesive technology has become a promising assembly process in the aerospace field due to its versatility, low creep and high damage tolerance. However, the reliability and predictability of adhesive bonding still require further development due to the complex operating conditions involved. Therefore, this article reviews and discusses the latest advances in aerospace adhesive technology, such as methods for improving bonding performance, bonding techniques (including joints structure and failure modes) and self-healing adhesive layers. Additionally, the current research results are summarised, and possible development trends and research directions in the field of adhesive bonding are prospected.

Synergistic Self-Healing Enhancement in Multifunctional Silicone Elastomers and Their Application in Smart Materials

Organosilicon polymers (silicones) are of enduring interest both as an established branch of polymer chemistry and as a segment of commercial products. Their unique properties were exploited in a wide range of everyday applications. However, current silicone trends in chemistry and materials engineering are focused on new smart applications, including stretchable electronics, wearable stress sensors, protective coatings, and soft robotics. Such applications require a fresh approach to methods for increasing the durability and mechanical strength of polysiloxanes, including crosslinked systems. The introduction of self-healing options to silicones has been recognized as a promising alternative in this field, but only carefully designed multifunctional systems operating with several different self-healing mechanisms can truly address the demands placed on such valuable materials. In this review, we summarized the progress of research efforts dedicated to the synthesis and applications of self-healing hybrid materials through multi-component systems that enable the design of functional silicon-based polymers for smart applications.

Thymine-Modified Silicones: A Bioinspired Approach to Cross-Linked, Recyclable Silicone Polymers

In DNA, thymine typically forms hydrogen bonds with adenine to hold two complementary strands together and to preserve the genetic code. While thymine is typically absent in RNA, a thymine-thymine hydrogen bonding structure is reminiscent of the wobble region in tRNA recognition, where noncanonical base pairing can occur. This noncanonical base pairing can be applied to synthetic polymer systems, where thymine is free to hydrogen bond with itself. In this work, the natural hydrogen bonding capacity of thymine was used to produce silicone polymer systems designed to be cross-linked by hydrogen bonds. Backbone and end-group-modified silicones were synthesized with differing concentrations of thymine, which facilitated the cross-linking of the polymeric strands. Removing the hydrogen on N3─which is typically involved in hydrogen bonding─resulted in systems with similar viscosities to the starting material and that were devoid of any apparent cross-links. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies of the thymine-modified polymers displayed thermal absorptions and releases, indicative of bond breaking and reformation, around 100 and 60 °C, respectively. The cycle of bond breaking and formation could be repeated without any noticeable degradation of the chemical structure of the polymers. These polymeric materials could be readily recycled and remolded by heating them at 110 °C for 5 min, followed by cooling to room temperature, confirming their thermoplastic nature.

Self-Healing Silicone Materials: Looking Back and Moving Forward

This review is dedicated to self-healing silicone materials, which can partially or entirely restore their original characteristics after mechanical or electrical damage is caused to them, such as formed (micro)cracks, scratches, and cuts. The concept of self-healing materials originated from biomaterials (living tissues) capable of self-healing and regeneration of their functions (plants, human skin and bones, etc.). Silicones are ones of the most promising polymer matrixes to create self-healing materials. Self-healing silicones allow an increase of the service life and durability of materials and devices based on them. In this review, we provide a critical analysis of the current existing types of self-healing silicone materials and their functional properties, which can be used in biomedicine, optoelectronics, nanotechnology, additive manufacturing, soft robotics, skin-inspired electronics, protection of surfaces, etc.

From passive to emerging smart silicones

Amassing remarkable properties, silicones are practically indispensable in our everyday life. In most classic applications, they play a passive role in that they cover, seal, insulate, lubricate, water-proof, weather-proof etc. However, silicone science and engineering are highly innovative, seeking to develop new compounds and materials that meet market demands. Thus, the unusual properties of silicones, coupled with chemical group functionalization, has allowed silicones to gradually evolve from passive materials to active ones, meeting the concept of “smart materials”, which are able to respond to external stimuli. In such cases, the intrinsic properties of polysiloxanes are augmented by various chemical modifications aiming to attach reactive or functional groups, and/or by engineering through proper cross-linking pattern or loading with suitable fillers (ceramic, magnetic, highly dielectric or electrically conductive materials, biologically active, etc.), to add new capabilities and develop high value materials. The literature and own data reflecting the state-of-the art in the field of smart silicones, such as thermoplasticity, self-healing ability, surface activity, electromechanical activity and magnetostriction, thermo-, photo-, and piezoresponsivity are reviewed.