New publication highlights responsive materials for prosthetic and bionic applications

The authors Eleonora Foschino, Alessandro Ianiro, and Remco Tuinier, members of the INTEGRATE project consortium, together with Irene E. Hulsen and Mark Vis, have published a new article titled: “Self-consistent field description of polyelectrolyte-grafted colloidal actuators” in Soft Matter.

This study presents a theoretical framework for the actuating units of artificial muscles, employing a self-consistent (mean-field) lattice computational approach. Each actuator unit is composed of pH-responsive polyelectrolytes grafted between colloidal particles in aqueous solution. The work investigates both strongly and weakly charged polyelectrolytes, demonstrating how pH and salt concentration can be used to finely tune expansion and contraction, which is critical for designing responsive, bioinspired materials.

These findings provide valuable predictive tools for the design of next-generation prosthetic and bionic devices, allowing researchers to anticipate material behavior before experimental implementation. The work exemplifies the multidisciplinary and collaborative efforts of the INTEGRATE team in advancing bioinspired materials research.

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