Sea Cucumber Inspires Nano-Material

"These creatures can reversibly and quickly change the stiffness of their skin. Normally it is very soft but, for example in response to a threat, the animal can activate its 'body armor' by hardening its skin," said Jeffrey Capadona, associate investigator at the VA's Advanced Platform Technology (APT) Center.

With the sea cucumber as their model, the scientists unveiled a radically new approach for developing polymer nanocomposites which alter their mechanical properties when exposed to certain chemical stimuli.

"We can engineer these new polymers to change their mechanical properties -- in particular stiffness and strength -- in a programmed fashion when exposed to a specific chemical," said Christoph Weder, a professor of macromolecular science at Case Western Reserve, and a senior author on the article.

Stuart Rowan, professor of macromolecular science at Case Western Reserve, said: "The materials ... were designed to change from a hard plastic -- think of a CD case -- to a soft rubber when brought in contact with water."

Related Links:

Eric Bland's blog: What the Tech?

How Stuff Works: Nanotechnology

NSF National Nanotechnology Initiative