Soft network composite materials with deterministic and bio-inspired designs

TLDR

Hard and soft structural composites in biology inspire advanced synthetic materials, yet soft bio‑inspired systems have received comparatively little attention. The study introduces deterministic routes to low‑modulus thin‑film materials whose stress/strain responses can be precisely tailored to match the nonlinear properties of biological tissues, targeting applications from soft biomedical devices to tissue‑engineering constructs. The method uses a low‑modulus matrix reinforced by an open, stretchable network to produce composites with diverse mechanical responses such as anisotropic, spatially heterogeneous, hierarchical, and self‑similar designs. Demonstrations in skin‑mounted electrophysiological sensors and hydrogel‑based drug‑release vehicles show that the composites can match epidermal mechanics and enable broad biomedical device applications.

Abstract

Abstract Hard and soft structural composites found in biology provide inspiration for the design of advanced synthetic materials. Many examples of bio-inspired hard materials can be found in the literature; far less attention has been devoted to soft systems. Here we introduce deterministic routes to low-modulus thin film materials with stress/strain responses that can be tailored precisely to match the non-linear properties of biological tissues, with application opportunities that range from soft biomedical devices to constructs for tissue engineering. The approach combines a low-modulus matrix with an open, stretchable network as a structural reinforcement that can yield classes of composites with a wide range of desired mechanical responses, including anisotropic, spatially heterogeneous, hierarchical and self-similar designs. Demonstrative application examples in thin, skin-mounted electrophysiological sensors with mechanics precisely matched to the human epidermis and in soft, hydrogel-based vehicles for triggered drug release suggest their broad potential uses in biomedical devices.