Abstract
The development of appropriate materials that can make breakthroughs in tissue engineering has long been pursued by the scientific community. Several types of material have been long tested and re-designed for this purpose. At the same time, liquid crystals (LCs) have captivated the scientific community since their discovery in 1888 and soon after were thought to be, in combination with polymers, artificial muscles. Within the past decade liquid crystal elastomers (LCE) have been attracting increasing interest for their use as smart advanced materials for biological applications. Here, we examine how LCEs can potentially be used as dynamic substrates for culturing cells, moving away from the classical two-dimensional cell-culture nature. We also briefly discuss the integration of a few technologies for the preparation of more sophisticated LCE-composite scaffolds for more dynamic biomaterials. The anisotropic properties of LCEs can be used not only to promote cell attachment and the proliferation of cells, but also to promote cell alignment under LCE-stimulated deformation. 3D LCEs are ideal materials for new insights to simulate and study the development of tissues and the complex interplay between cells.
Highlights
Introduction to Liquid CrystalElastomers (LCEs)As is well known, several organic substances can exhibit solid, liquid and gas phases, they can show intermediate phases between liquid and solid, which are called mesophases
To achieve contraction of the liquid crystal elastomers (LCE) rather than a bend, the film needs to be thin and exposed to light over a long period to permit the light to penetrate the bulk of the material [66]
The above displays the potential of LCEs for mechanical dynamic substrate in muscle material
Summary
Schematic organization organization of of rod-like rod-like molecules molecules in in liquid. Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are polymer-network network chains that have a responsive molecular shape and orientational order [7]. As reported by Finkelmann et al, nematic polydomain have similar properties to polycrystalline materials, such as macroscopic isotropy and mechanical elastomers show a monodomain network uniaxial deformationsetconvert into macroscopic deformations giving rise to anisotropy. Thermal properties are affected numerous variables such as crosslinking density, elastomers due to combination between the network, which has elastic deformation, and the mesogenic flexibility of the polymer backbone, type of mesogenic moiety, spacer and degree and type of monomers’. The limitation regarding non-LC materials concerns their lack of response under a variety of external stimuli and anisotropy This drawback could be overcome by the incorporation of LC units, which could simultaneously promote dynamic and responsive properties, and a macroscopic ordering event.
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