RUI: Biocompatible Electromechanical Actuators Based on Silk-Conducting Polymer Composites

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Non-technical Summary: This award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to Western Washington University is to design and fabricate biologically compatible materials capable of controlled movements, known as actuators that are highly sought after for use in a variety of biomedical devices such as dynamic artificial tissues, drug delivery depots and steerable surgical instruments. Recently, methods have been developed in the PI's laboratory to construct fully-biocompatible, metal-free actuator devices utilizing a composite material made from silkworm silk, and demonstrated that these materials can move in response to low applied voltages while in environments that mimic the human body. Here, the PI plans to extend these results to further develop versatile biomaterials with stable and efficient actuation performance. Extensive participation of undergraduate students in research is a key goal of this work. This research program will involve a total of 12-15 undergraduate students over the three-year grant period in addition to a Master's level research student. These students will be involved in every phase of the research. Beyond this project, this work will also serve to increase the infrastructure for undergraduate STEM research, and further foster collaborations between the Departments of Physics, Chemistry and the Advanced Materials Science and Engineering Center (AMSEC) at Western Washington University. Technical Summary: The aim of this project is to develop architecturally versatile composite biomaterials composed of silk fibroin and conducting polymers (CPs) that function as stable and efficient electromechanical actuators in biologically-relevant environments. This project builds on the recent successes of the co-PIs to synthesize interpenetrating network composites of silk and poly(pyrrole) and utilize these materials as bilayer actuators. Here, the effects of CP chemical composition, silk scaffold architecture and actuator device geometry on 2D and 3D actuation in biological environments will be investigated. This novel material platform also enables the development of previously unexplored actuator device geometries and functionality. More broadly, these studies will help inform the design and synthesis of CPs destined for in vivo use, and will also uncover rational design metrics that will be applied to the design of future generations of biomedical devices utilizing CP-based actuators. Furthermore, over the three-year grant period this program will provide the opportunity for 12-15 undergraduate students to participate in research, and will increase the infrastructure for undergraduate STEM research at Western Washington University.