據(jù)3月7日的《科學(xué)》（Science）雜志報(bào)道,，研究人員已經(jīng)研發(fā)出了一種新型材料,，該材料就像海參一樣可以在僵硬與松軟狀態(tài)之間轉(zhuǎn)換,。這樣的材料也許某一天可用于生物醫(yī)學(xué)移植上，如作為圍繞腦中微電極的保護(hù)鞘。該保護(hù)鞘在植入的時(shí)候應(yīng)該是呈剛性的,，但可以在以后變成柔軟狀態(tài),，以減輕對(duì)周圍組織的沖擊。（微電極現(xiàn)在被用于巴金森氏病,、中風(fēng)及脊髓損傷的治療,，但這種治療隨著機(jī)體在堅(jiān)硬的移植物周圍生成疤痕組織而降低了療效。）
Jeffrey Capadona及其同僚在某橡膠狀共聚混合物中加入了纖維素納米纖維,，或稱“晶須”,。 當(dāng)研究人員加入一種引起氫鍵結(jié)合的溶劑后，該溶劑打斷了纖維之間的鍵合,，因而使該材料變軟,。當(dāng)該溶劑揮發(fā)之后，在晶需之間的網(wǎng)絡(luò)結(jié)構(gòu)會(huì)重新形成,，因此而使該材料變硬,。研究人員所用的是來自被囊動(dòng)物（一種固著海洋動(dòng)物）套膜中的纖維素晶須。不過他們表示,，可再生性物質(zhì)如木材和棉花也可作為類似納米纖維的來源,。（來源：EurekAlert!中文版）
生物谷推薦原始出處:
（Science），Vol. 319. no. 5868, pp. 1370 - 1374,，Jeffrey R. Capadona,，Christoph Weder
Stimuli-Responsive Polymer Nanocomposites Inspired by the Sea Cucumber Dermis
Jeffrey R. Capadona, Kadhiravan Shanmuganathan, Dustin J. Tyler, Stuart J. Rowan, Christoph Weder
Sea cucumbers, like other echinoderms, have the ability to rapidly and reversibly alter the stiffness of their inner dermis. It has been proposed that the modulus of this tissue is controlled by regulating the interactions among collagen fibrils, which reinforce a low-modulus matrix. We report on a family of polymer nanocomposites, which mimic this architecture and display similar chemoresponsive mechanic adaptability. Materials based on a rubbery host polymer and rigid cellulose nanofibers exhibit a reversible reduction by a factor of 40 of the tensile modulus, for example, from 800 to 20 megapascals (MPa), upon exposure to a chemical regulator that mediates nanofiber interactions. Using a host polymer with a thermal transition in the regime of interest, we demonstrated even larger modulus changes (4200 to 1.6 MPa) upon exposure to emulated physiological conditions.
