Dr. Stefan Schiller and Dr. Matthias Huber from the University of Freiburg’s livMatS Cluster of Excellence have succeeded in developing a muscle solely on the basis of natural proteins. The autonomous contractions of the material, which the researchers presented in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems, can be controlled with the help of pH and temperature changes. The movements are driven by a chemical reaction that consumes molecular energy for this purpose. “Our artificial muscle is still a prototype,” says Schiller. “However, the high biocompatibility of the material and the possibility of adjusting its composition to match particular tissue could pave the way for future applications in reconstructive medicine, prosthetics, pharmaceutics, or soft robotics.”
In the past, scientists have already taken natural proteins as a basis for developing artificial muscle systems and built them into miniscule molecular machines or into polymers. However, it has not yet been possible to develop synthetic muscle materials that are entirely bio-based and move autonomously with the help of chemical energy.
Source: sciencedaily.com
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