Dresden 2014 – scientific programme

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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 35: Biomaterials and Biopolymers (joint session with BP) I

CPP 35.1: Invited Talk

Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 15:00–15:30, ZEU 222

Fabrication of 3D Cell Structures Using Self-Folding Polymer Films — •Leonid Ionov — Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden

Nature offers an enormous arsenal of ideas for the design of novel materials with superior properties and interesting behaviors. In particular, self-assembly and self-organization, which are fundamental to structure formation in nature, attract significant interest as promising concepts for the design of intelligent materials. Self-folding stimuli-responsive polymer films are exemplary biomimetic materials and can be viewed as model systems for bioinspired actuation. Such films, on one hand, mimic movement mechanisms in certain plant organs and, on the other hand, are able to self-organize and form complex 3D structures. These self-folding films consist of two polymers layers with different properties. For such a bilayer to changes its curvature at least one of these polymers, the active one, must change its volume more than the other one in response to changes in the external environmental such as temperature, pH or light. Because of this non-equal expansion of polymers, these films are able to form tubes, capsules or more 3D complex structures. Self-folding polymeric films provide unique possibilities for the straightforward fabrication of fibers with complex responsive architectures and that cannot be achieved using other currently available technologies. In this presentation, new applications of self-folding films for encapsulation and release of cells, 3D cell patterning as well as design of scaffolds will be demonstrated.