University of Massachusetts

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.

Edwin P Chan

Alfred J Crosby

Robert Samuel Langer

Jeffrey T Borenstein

Jeffrey Michael Karp

David J Carter

Christopher J Bettinger

Andreas Zumbuehl

Ryan Hayward

Robert Langer

Douglas P Holmes

Charles J Rand

Kyriaki Kalaitzidou

Mahdavi Alborz

Lino Ferreira

An adhesive article includes a biocompatible and at least partially biodegradable substrate having a surface; and a plurality of protrusions extending from the surface. The protrusions include a biocompatible and at least partially biodegradable material, and have an average height of less than approximately 1,000 micrometers.

Adhesive articles

Biomimetic stimuli-responsive surfaces and articles of manufacture, together with methods of fabrication and related methods of use.

Stimuli-responsive surfaces and related methods of fabrication and use

A wrinkled adhesive surface is prepared by swelling a laterally confined elastomer layer with a polymerizable monomer composition. Swelling the elastomer layer spontaneously produces a wrinkled surface, and the wrinkles are then stabilized by polymerizing the polymerizable monomer composition. The stabilized wrinkled surfaces prepare by the method can exhibit substantially enhanced adhesion relative to smooth surfaces of the same material. The stabilized wrinkled surfaces can also exhibit adhesion that is repeatable through many cycles of contact with and separation from another surface. The adhesive characteristics of the stabilized wrinkled surfaces can be tailored by manipulating the size of the wrinkles.

Wrinkled adhesive surfaces and methods for the preparation thereof

A method for generating spontaneously aligned surface wrinkles utilizes control of local moduli-mismatch and osmotic pressure. The method includes modifying the surface of an elastomeric layer to form a superlayer that is stiffer and/or less absorbent than the elastomeric layer. The elastomeric layer is then swollen with a polymerizable monomer, which causes buckling of the superlayer. The monomer is then polymerized, dimensionally stabilizing the surface buckling. The buckled surfaces generated by the method are useful in a wide variety of end-use applications, including microlenses, microlens arrays, compound microlenses, diffraction gratings, photonic crystals, smart adhesives, mechanical strain sensors, microfluidic devices, and cell culture surfaces.

Surface buckling method and articles formed thereby

A method for generating spontaneously aligned surface wrinkles utilizes control of local moduli-mismatch and osmotic pressure. The method includes modifying the surface of an elastomeric layer to form a superlayer that is stiffer and/or less absorbent than the elastomeric layer. The elastomeric layer is then swollen with a polymerizable monomer, which causes buckling of the superlayer. The monomer is then polymerized, dimensionally stabilizing the surface buckling. The budded surfaces generated by the method are useful in a wide variety of end-use applications, including microlenses, microlens arrays, compound microlenses, diffraction gratings, photonic crystals, smart adhesives, mechanical strain sensors, microfluidic devices, and cell culture surfaces.

Growing community of inventors

Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Edwin P Chan