Technology
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Researchers have developed a new slime-like material made of natural materials that’s basically something out of a sci-fi movie: it generates electricity when squeezed! This crazy goo may have a whole range of potential uses, ranging from new medical applications to supporting green energy production or being used in robotics.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.The slime was developed by researchers at the University of Guelph, Canada, and tested at Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan – the home of Canada’s national synchrotron, a kind of particle accelerator. During their testing, they realized something peculiar about the material. It seems the slime can form different structures at the microscopic level, allowing it to arrange itself like a sponge, in layers like a lasagna, or in hexagonal columns.
“The synchrotron is like a super-microscope,” lead researcher Erica Pensini said in a statement. “It allowed us to see that if you apply an electric field, you can change the crystalline structure of this material.”
Pensini and colleagues suggest that, among its various potential practical uses, the slime could be installed into floors to help produce clean energy when people step on it. Alternatively, the material could be put into someone’s insoles (not the setup for a prank), where it could help analyze the way they walk. It could even be used as synthetic skin on robots, helping them learn how to apply the right amount of pressure to objects when they touch them – including gentle pressure for taking a person’s pulse.
In addition to this, the slime’s unusual arrangement properties could offer an opportunity for the targeted delivery of specific medicines into the body.
“Imagine you have the material take an initial structure that contains a pharmaceutical substance and then, when an electric field is applied to it, the structure changes to release the medicine”, Pensini added.
But that’s not all – the material could also potentially be coopted to serve as a bandage that actively promotes healing.
“Our bodies produce small electric fields to attract healing cells to an open wound,” said Pensini. “By creating a bandage that increases this electric field, healing could theoretically happen faster. In this case, the bandage would be activated by our natural movements and breathing.”
As mentioned above, the slime is made from natural materials that are highly compatible with the human body. It consists of 90 percent water; oleic acid, a fatty acid found in olive oil; and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.
“I wanted to make something that is 100 per cent benign and that I would put on my skin without any concerns,” Pensini explained.
The wonder slime may have many uses in the future, but for now, it needs more testing. It seems Pensini has decided to treat herself as a test subject in this context, as she hopes to use it as a salve for her hands after rock climbing.
“I need an initial guinea pig, so it might as well be me, right?”
The paper is published in the Journal of Molecular Liquids.
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