Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prosthetic vein valve to help improve the lives of those suffering from chronic venous insufficiency, a condition that occurs when valves in a person’s veins can no longer ensure a one-way flow of blood back to the heart.

David Ku, Georgia Tech, explained: “Blood flows to the toes because of gravity, but the body uses vein valves to pump blood in one direction back to the heart. However, sometimes a vein valve dissolves away after a blood clot. The loss of the valve leaflets allows blood to flow the wrong way, causing swelling in the legs and ankles.”

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The energy for tomorrow’s miniature electronic devices could come from tiny microbatteries about half the size of a human cell, and built with viruses, according to engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

MIT engineers have developed a way to create and install such microbatteries – which could one day power a range of miniature devices, from labs-on-a-chip to implantable medical sensors – by stamping them onto a variety of surfaces.

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Tiny grippers capable of grabbing and moving microscale objects have been developed by researchers from Johns Hopkins University.

David Gracias, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and his team based the tetherless grippers on human hands, which have rigid phalanges and flexible joints. The grippers’ trilayer structure consists of a film made of chromium and copper layer topped with a polymer.

The Johns Hopkins University grippers exploit benign cues such as temperature of biomolecules to trigger gripping and release motions.

Gracias explained: “The film is like a stretched rubber band, when you release it; it immediately tries to curl up.”

The polymer controls whether the film curls up. If the polymer is stiff, the gripper stays open. When the polymer is softened by temperature or chemical triggers, the gripper closes around its target. The grippers release again when another chemical is applied.

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ITM Power has unveiled a hydrogen refuelling station and a hydrogen-powered car which could revolutionise commuting while cutting fuel costs and CO2 emissions.

The conventional petrol-engined Ford-Focus, which has completed successful urban commuting trials, has been converted to run on hydrogen, which burns without emitting CO2, and could ultimately reduce drivers’ dependence on fossil fuels.

In addition, ITM Power has also revealed a hydrogen home refuelling station capable of producing the gas from water and electricity. The station overcomes one of the fundamental stumbling blocks to hydrogen economy – the lack of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure and utility supply network.

It has taken scientists and chemists at the company’s Sheffield research base eight years to create a low-cost means of manufacturing hydrogen. It’s patented electrolyser-based refuelling station uses a low-cost polymer which dispenses with the need for expensive platinum and can be manufactured at one per cent of the cost of traditional membrane materials.

The result is a hydrogen production system small enough to be used in a home or business, which can generate the gas from a supply of water and off-peak or renewable electricity – power created by wind, wave, solar or nuclear energy. The stored hydrogen could then be used to fuel converted cars or provide power for domestic or commercial purposes.

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Chemical engineering researchers at McMaster University have found that hyaluronic acid, a common fluid found in the body, can be used as a natural moisturising agent in contact lenses, without affecting optical properties.

Hyaluronic acid is a natural polymer that acts to reduce friction. On average a person has 15g of hyaluronic acid in their body, a third of which is replenished daily. The body uses hyaluronic acid to repair skin, provide resiliency in cartilage, and contribute to the growth and movement or cells. It is also used in the medical profession to treat patients with dry eyes, in cataract surgery and for other eye-related procedures.

In addition to preventing dryness commonly experienced by contact lens wearers, hyaluronic acid also considerably reduces the build-up of proteins that can cloud contact lens material.

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A biologically-inspired material that is said to enhance tissue healing, improve bone growth around an implant and strengthen the attachment and integration of the implant to the bone, has been developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Andrés Garcia, Georgia Tech, explained: “We designed a coating that specifically communicates with cells, and we’re telling the cells to grow bone around the implant.”

He continued: “Our coating consists of a high density of polymer strands, akin to the bristles on a toothbrush, which we can then modify to present our bio-inspired, bioactive protein.”

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A new material with a structure resembling crispy noodles, could help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being pumped out and drive the next generation of high-performance hydrogen cars.

Dr Peter Budd, a materials chemist working in the Organic Materials Innovation Centre (OMIC) at The University of Manchester, has won £150,000 worth of new funding to explore the use of a special polymer to effectively remove CO2 as it’s emitted from fossil fuel power stations or hydrogen production plants.

The 18 month study, which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will look at the feasibility of using catalytic membrane systems to capture and recover carbon dioxide.

Dr Budd will explore the potential of composite membranes made from a ‘polymer of intrinsic microporosity’, or PIM, and a synthetic catalyst, and hopes to make progress towards creating a unique and highly efficient double membrane system that can be used for both CO2 removal and CO2 recovery.

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