About event
Polymer-based functional materials are advancing both soft robotics and biomedical sensing across length scales, enabling adaptive systems for precise actuation and continuous health monitoring. This talk features recent work from my group spanning microscale electrochemical actuators (ECAs) to macroscale shape-memory polymers (SMPs) for soft robotic applications, alongside self-powered and self-healable triboelectric tactile sensors to printed microfluidic biosensors for real-time physiological analysis.
Microscale trilayer ECAs, fabricated via aerosol jet printing, leverage proton migration for rapid, low-voltage actuation with submillimeter precision [1], supporting applications in microrobotics and haptics. At the macroscale, 4D-printed SMPs, formulated for masked stereolithography, demonstrate thermally controlled actuation near ambient temperatures [2], enabling programmable robotic tools, with the possibility of integrating self-healable triboelectric tactile sensors [3]. Beyond robotics, flexible polymer-based biomedical sensors offer continuous patient monitoring, overcoming limitations of traditional episodic clinical assessments. A novel impedance spectroscopy-based electrical characterization method enables real-time analysis of fluids within microfluidic channels for non-invasive biomarker detection in sweat [4, 5], while microfluidic capacitive force sensors with printed electrodes support precision joint replacement surgery [6].
By bridging microscale actuators, macroscale shape-memory transformations, and biosensing applications, this research highlights the versatility of polymer-based devices in automation, healthcare, and microrobotics, paving the way for multifunctional, adaptive technologies.
References:
[1] “Controllable Multimodal Actuation in Fully Printed Ultrathin Micro-Patterned Electrochemical Actuators”, J Zhang, Q Jing, T Wade, Z Xu, L Ives, D Zhang, J Baumberg, S Kar-Narayan, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 16, 6485 (2024).
[2] “3D-printed photothermal-responsive shape-memory polymer for soft robotic applications”, K. Ghosh, S. Kar-Narayan, Chem. Commun. DOI: 10.1039/D4CC03549F (2024).
[3] “Tailoring of Self-Healable Polydimethylsiloxane Films for Mechanical Energy Harvesting”, K. Ghosh, A. Morgan, X. Garcia-Casas, S. Kar-Narayan, ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 7, 8185 (2024).
[4] "Purely electrical detection of electrolyte concentration through microfluidic impedance spectroscopy", T Wade, S Malik, L Ives, N Ćatić, S Kar-Narayan, Cell Reports Physical Science 5, 102133 (2024).
[5] “Temperature-dependent microfluidic impedance spectroscopy for non-invasive biofluid characterization”, T Wade & S Kar-Narayan, Biomicrofluidics 19, 034101 (2025).
[6] “Conformable and robust force sensors to enable precision joint replacement surgery”
L Ives, A Pace, F Bor, Q Jing, T Wade, J Cama, V Khanduja, S Kar-Narayan*
Materials & Design 219, 110747 (2022).
