No abstract

This paper describes the transformation of shape memory polymer (SMP) discs, from flat sheets to complex three-dimensional (3D) shapes, in response to heat generated by localized absorption of external infrared (IR) light. The gray-scale ink darkness printed on the surface of the SMP sheet determines the amount of absorbed light and the amount of heat generated on the surface of the sheet. Consequently, the lateral pattern of the ink governs the out-of-plane deformation of the SMP sheets due to variations in localized heating and shrinking. While recent studies have focused primarily on out-of-plane deformations of planar, rectangular substrates printed with linear patterns of ink and featuring either discrete or gradient ink variation, only limited studies have been performed on circular substrates with axisymmetric ink patterns. When heated by IR light, the axial symmetry of these ink designs produces unique out-of-plane deformations of the sheets, such as saddle shapes or bowl-like structures. We investigate these designs by utilizing a finite element analysis of material shrinkage and deformation, and we validate the model with experimental measurements and observations. This investigation provides insights into the mechanisms that cause axisymmetric geometries and ink patterns to form non-axisymmetric 3D structures, which can lead to the ability to program planar geometries that form complex 3D shapes when exposed to external stimuli.

Environmental and health risks posed by microplastics (MPs) have spurred numerous studies to better understand MPs' properties and behavior. Yet, we still lack a comprehensive understanding due to MP's heterogeneity in properties and complexity of plastic property evolution during aging processes. There is an urgent need to thoroughly understand the properties and behavior of MPs as there is increasing evidence of MPs' adverse health and environmental effects. In this perspective, we propose an integrated chemical engineering approach to improve our understanding of MPs. The approach merges artificial intelligence, theoretical methods, and experimental techniques to integrate existing data into models of MPs, investigate unknown features of MPs, and identify future areas of research. The breadth of chemical engineering, which spans biological, computational, and materials sciences, makes it well‐suited to comprehensively characterize MPs. Ultimately, this perspective charts a path for cross‐disciplinary collaborative research in chemical engineering to address the issue of MP pollution.

DNA can interact with a wide array of molecules with a range of binding affinities, stoichiometry, and size-scales. We present a sensitive, quantitative, and versatile platform for sensing and evaluating these diverse DNA−biomolecule interactions and DNA conformational changes in free solution. Single molecule free solution hydrodynamic separation utilizes differences in hydrodynamic mobility to separate bound DNA−biomolecule complexes from unbound DNA and determine the associated size change that results from binding. Single molecule detection enables highly quantitative analysis of the fraction of DNA in the bound and unbound state to characterize binding behavior including affinity, stoichiometry, and cooperativity. A stacked injection scheme increases throughput to enable practical analysis of DNA−biomolecule interactions using only picoliters of sample per measurement. To demonstrate analysis of DNA−protein interactions on a local scale, we investigate binding of the E. coli single stranded binding protein to two DNA oligos both individually and in direct competition. We show that stoichiometry and cooperativity is a function of DNA length and verify these differences in binding characteristics through direct competition. To demonstrate analysis of DNA−small molecule interactions and global conformational changes, we also assess DNA condensation with the polyamine spermidine. We use hydrodynamic mobility to evaluate the size of spermidinecondensed DNA and single molecule burst analysis to evaluate DNA packing within the condensed globules relative to freecoiled DNA. This platform thus presents a versatile tool capable of quantitative and sensitive evaluation of diverse biomolecular interactions, complex properties, and binding characteristics.

It is challenging to find a conventional nanofabrication technique that can consistently produce soft polymeric matter of high surface area and nanoscale morphology in a way that is scalable, versatile, and easily tunable. Here, the capabilities of a universal method for fabricating diverse nano‐ and micro‐scale morphologies based on polymer precipitation templated by the fluid streamlines in multiphasic flow are explored. It is shown that while the procedure is operationally simple, various combinations of its intertwined mechanisms can controllably and reproducibly lead to the formation of an extraordinary wide range of colloidal morphologies. By systematically investigating the process conditions, 12 distinct classes of polymer micro‐ and nano‐structures including particles, rods, ribbons, nanosheets, and soft dendritic colloids (dendricolloids) are identified. The outcomes are interpreted by delineating the physical processes into three stages: hydrodynamic shear, capillary and mechanical breakup, and polymer precipitation rate. The insights into the underlying fundamental mechanisms provide guidance toward developing a versatile and scalable nanofabrication platform. It is verified that the liquid shear‐based technique is versatile and works well with many chemically diverse polymers and biopolymers, showing potential as a universal tool for simple and scalable nanofabrication of many morphologically distinct soft matter classes.