Paul Glass

Microstructured elastomeric surfaces with reversible adhesion and examples of their use in deterministic assembly by transfer printing

Reversible control of adhesion is an important feature of many desired, existing, and potential systems, including climbing robots, medical tapes, and stamps for transfer printing. We present experimental and theoretical studies of pressure modulated adhesion between flat, stiff objects and elastomeric surfaces with sharp features of surface relief in optimized geometries. Here, the strength of nonspecific adhesion can be switched by more than three orders of magnitude, from strong to weak, in a reversible fashion. Implementing these concepts in advanced stamps for transfer printing enables versatile modes for deterministic assembly of solid materials in micro/nanostructured forms. Demonstrations in printed two- and three-dimensional collections of silicon platelets and membranes illustrate some capabilities. An unusual type of transistor that incorporates a printed gate electrode, an air gap dielectric, and an aligned array of single walled carbon nanotubes provides a device example.

Enhanced Reversible Adhesion of Dopamine Methacrylamide-Coated Elastomer Microfibrillar Structures under Wet Conditions

In this work, we take previously developed gecko-foot-hair-inspired elastomer microfiber arrays with film-terminated and mushroom-shaped tips that have demonstrated enhanced adhesion with respect to unpatterned materials under dry conditions and coat them with synthetic DOPA-containing mussel-inspired polymers to enhance adhesion repeatedly in fully submerged wet environments. A new protocol for the development of this hybrid patterned, coated adhesive, which is suitable for use in contact with both wet and dry nonflat surfaces, is described. The experimental evaluation of repeatable adhesion under both wet and dry conditions for these materials is described and compared with unpatterned and/or uncoated materials. Macroscale reversible fibrillar adhesion enhancement on a nonflat, smooth glass surface when compared with unpatterned materials under fully submerged conditions is demonstrated with no suction effect.

A Legged Anchoring Mechanism for Capsule Endoscopes Using Micropatterned Adhesives

This paper presents a new concept for an anchoring mechanism to enhance existing capsule endoscopes. The mechanism consists of three actuated legs with compliant feet lined with micropillar adhesives to be pressed into the intestine wall to anchor the device at a fixed location. These adhesive systems are inspired by gecko and beetle foot hairs. Single-leg and full capsule mathematical models of the forces generated by the legs are analyzed to understand capsule performance. Empirical friction models for the interaction of the adhesives with an intestinal substrate were experimentally determined in vitro using dry and oil-coated elastomer micropillar arrays with 140 mum pillar diameter, 105 mum spacing between pillars, and an aspect ratio of 1:1 on fresh porcine small intestine specimens. Capsule prototypes were also tested in a simulated intestine environment and compared with predicted peristaltic loads to assess the viability of the proposed design. The experimental results showed that a deployed 10 gr capsule robot can withstand axial peristaltic loads and anchor reliably when actuation forces are greater than 0.27 N using dry micropillars. Required actuation forces may be reduced significantly by using micropillars coated with a thin silicone oil layer.

Enhanced Wet Adhesion and Shear of Elastomeric Micro-Fiber Arrays with Mushroom Tip Geometry and a Photopolymerized p(DMA-co-MEA) Tip Coating

Using principles inspired by the study of naturally occurring sticky systems such as the micro- and nanoscale fibers on the toes of geckos and the adhesive proteins secreted by marine animals such as mussels, this study describes the development and evaluation of a novel patterned and coated elastomeric microfibrillar material for enhanced repeatable adhesion and shear in wet environments. A multistep fabrication process consisting of optical lithography, micromolding, polymer synthesis, dipping, stamping, and photopolymerization is described to produce uniform arrays of polyurethane elastomeric microfibers with mushroom-shaped tips coated with a thin layer of lightly cross-linked p(DMA-co-MEA), an intrinsically adhesive synthetic polymer. Adhesion and shear force characterization of these arrays in contact with a glass hemisphere is demonstrated, and significant pull-off force, overall work of adhesion, and shear force enhancements in submerged aqueous environments are shown when compared to both unpatterned and uncoated samples, as well as previously evaluated patterned and coated arrays with differing geometry. Such materials may have potential value as repeatable adhesives for wet environments, such as for medical devices.

Biaxial mechanical modeling of the small intestine.

Capsule endoscopes are pill-size devices provided with a camera that capture images of the small intestine from inside the body after being ingested by a patient. The interaction between intestinal tissue and capsule endoscopes needs to be investigated to optimize capsule design while preventing tissue damage. To that purpose, a constitutive model that can reliably predict the mechanical response of the intestinal tissue under complex mechanical loading is required. This paper describes the development and numerical validation of a phenomenological constitutive model for the porcine duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Parameters characterizing the mechanical behavior of the material were estimated from planar biaxial test data, where intestinal tissue specimens were simultaneously loaded along the circumferential and longitudinal directions. Specimen-specific Fung constitutive models were able to accurately predict the planar stress-strain behavior of the tested samples under a wide range of loading conditions. To increase model generality, average anisotropic constitutive relationships were also generated for each tissue region by fitting average stress-strain curves to the Fung potential. Due to the observed variability in the direction of maximum stiffness, the average Fung models were less anisotropic than the specimen-specific models. Hence, average isotropic models in the Neo-Hookean and Mooney-Rivlin forms were attempted, but they could not adequately describe the degree of nonlinearity in the tissue. Values of the R2 for the nonlinear regressions were 0.17, 0.44 and 0.93 for the average Neo-Hookean, Mooney-Rivlin and Fung models, respectively. Average models were successfully implemented into FORTRAN routines and used to simulate capsule deployment with a finite element method analysis.

A motorized anchoring mechanism for a tethered capsule robot using fibrillar adhesives for interventions in the esophagus

Patients suffering from chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or Barrettpsilas esophagus periodically need to have esophageal biopsy samples taken. This is currently done through a relatively expensive, time consuming, invasive endoscopic procedure which carries some risk. This paper presents a concept for a swallowable, motorized, tethered capsule endoscope which could eventually replace current endoscopic interventions in the esophagus. Newly-developed microscale fibrillar adhesives for anchoring the capsule in place were tested on porcine esophagus, and demonstrated as much as 200% friction enhancement when compared to unpatterned materials. A motorized legged stopping mechanism is presented, mathematically modeled, and capsules were manufactured and evaluated in vitro in porcine esophagus. Capsules with deployed legs lined with adhesives showed nearly four times more resistance to dislodgment than plain capsules with no legs.

Investigation of bioinspired gecko fibers to improve adhesion of HeartLander surgical robot

HeartLander is a medical robot proposed for minimally invasive epicardial intervention on the beating heart. To date, all prototypes have used suction to gain traction on the epicardium. Gecko-foot-inspired micro-fibers have been proposed for repeatable adhesion to surfaces. In this paper, a method for improving the traction of HeartLander on biological tissue is presented. The method involves integration of gecko-inspired fibrillar adhesives on the inner surfaces of the suction chambers of HeartLander. Experiments have been carried out on muscle tissue ex vivo assessing the traction performance of the modified HeartLander with bio-inspired adhesive. The adhesive fibers are found to improve traction on muscle tissue by 57.3%.

Constitutive Modeling of the Small Intestine

In the United States diseases of the gastrointestinal tract affect over 60 million people and generate a financial burden exceeding

Enhanced Adhesion of Dopamine Methacrylamide Elastomers via Viscoelasticity Tuning

140 billion per year. Capsule endoscopes that can be swallowed by the patients have been designed to image and biopsy the small intestine, which cannot be otherwise reached with traditional endoscopes. We measured the mechanical properties of the small intestine and developed a computational platform that simulates the response of the intestinal tissue under the mechanical loads imposed by capsule endoscopes. This platform represents a valuable tool in the design and optimization of endoscopes and surgical devices that interact with the small intestine.