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ChitoFold Biomaterials Self-Shaping

Driving Macro-scale Form with Nano-scale Programming

chitofold2
Mogas-Soldevila, L. et al. (2024) ‘Driving macro-scale transformations in three-dimensional-printed biopolymers through controlled induction of molecular anisotropy at the nanoscale’, Interface Focus, 14(3).
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Mogas-Soldevila, L. et al. (2024) ‘Driving macro-scale transformations in three-dimensional-printed biopolymers through controlled induction of molecular anisotropy at the nanoscale’, Interface Focus, 14(3).
Schematic of the multi-scale behaviour model of our material system and fabrication strategy, where the induced orientation of nanoscale chitosan crystallites ultimately drives macro-scale folding of the final additively manufactured form.
Overview of the platform and specific examples of manufacturable geometries.
Hierarchical additive manufacturing of chitosan gels.
Material formulation and molecular-scale crystallographic characterization.
Directional anisotropy of 2.5-dimensional-printed chitosan-based constructs.
Numerical simulations and experiments of fabrication-induced folding as a function of structural anisotropy.

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Motivated by the need to harness the properties of renewable and biodegradable polymers for the design and manufacturing of multi-scale structures with complex geometries, additive manufacturing that leverages molecular self-assembly was used to produce meter-scale structures characterized by complex geometries and heterogeneous material composition. As a precursor material, we used chitosan, a chemically modified form of chitin, an abundant and sustainable structural polysaccharide. We demonstrate the ability to control concentration-dependent crystallization as well as the induction of the preferred orientation of the polymer chains through the combination of extrusion-based robotic fabrication and directional toolpathing. Anisotropy is validated and assessed through high-resolution micro-X-ray diffraction in conjunction with finite element simulations. Using this approach, we can leverage controlled and user-defined small-scale propagation of residual stresses to induce large-scale folding of resulting large structures.

Team: Researchers from MIT MediaLab, Penn Weitzman and Penn MSE, Harvard Wyss, MITnano, Oxman, AMOLF Institute, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have contributed to this work. Authors are Mogas-Soldevila L., Duro-Royo J., Lizardo D., Hollyer G., Settens Ch., Cox J., Overvelde J., DiMasi E., Bertoldi K., Weaver J., and Oxman N.

Acknowledgements: This work has been published by invitation to the Interface Focus Journal Special issue on ‘Composite materials in biological systems: Biological and bioinspired composites’ organized by Wencke Krings and Stanislav N. Gorb. It was primarily supported by a GettyLab Grant to the Mediated Matter research group at the MIT Media Lab, and in part by the Johnson&Johnson Foundation Women in STEM2D Scholar in Design Award to Dr Mogas-Soldevila director of DumoLab Research at University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design Department of Architecture.

Publication: Mogas-Soldevila, L. et al. (2024) ‘Driving macro-scale transformations in three-dimensional-printed biopolymers through controlled induction of molecular anisotropy at the nanoscale’, Interface Focus, 14(3), p. 20230077. Invited article to 'Composite Materials in Biological Systems Special Issue: Part II, Biological and Bioinspired Composites’ by W Krings and S N. Gorb, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2023.0077.