Guidance of cellular nematic elastomers into shape-programmable living surfaces
Engineering living materials that autonomously morph into predetermined shapes holds potential for synthetic morphogenesis and soft robotics. Harnessing cellular tissues to self-organize and generate forces offers a promising route toward this goal. However, controlling tissue mechanics to direct mo...
| Autores: | , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Data de publicação: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositório: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dnet:upcommonspor::c3869ba169428b39d7bce7bdd1f7d28a |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/461820 https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adz9174 |
| Access Level: | Acceso aberto |
| Palavra-chave: | Tissue engineering Biomedical materials Enginyeria de teixits Materials biomèdics Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria biomèdica::Enginyeria de teixits |
| Resumo: | Engineering living materials that autonomously morph into predetermined shapes holds potential for synthetic morphogenesis and soft robotics. Harnessing cellular tissues to self-organize and generate forces offers a promising route toward this goal. However, controlling tissue mechanics to direct morphogenesis remains challenging. We introduce a strategy to program tissue-shape transformations through nematic organization of cellular forces. By controlling nematic order and topological defects, we generate tissues programmed with specific stress fields. Using a theoretical framework coupling contractile nematics with thin-sheet mechanics, we show that nematically guided active stresses can drive morphogenesis through Gaussian morphing. Experimentally, detachment of nematic tissues triggers out-of-plane deformations, generating reproducible three-dimensional shapes. Integrating contractility and nematic patterning, our approach establishes a framework for designing shape-programmable living surfaces. |
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