This work aims to demonstrate the possibility to fabricate ultra-thin polymeric films loaded with an anti-restenotic drug and capable of tunable drug release kinetics for the local treatment of restenosis. Vascular nanopatches are composed of a poly(lactic acid) supporting membrane (thickness: ~250 nm) on which 20 polyelectrolyte bilayers (overall thickness: ~70 nm) are alternatively deposited....

We demonstrate an organic/inorganic hybrid energy-harvesting platform, based on nanostructured piezolelectric arrays embedded in an environmental-responsive polymer matrix, which can self-generate electrical power by scavenging energy from the environment. A proof of principle device is designed, fabricated, and tested using vertically aligned ZnO nanowires and heat as the local energy source. ...

A new class of polymeric piezoelectric bimorph actuators, called C-blocks because of their curved shape, has been developed to overcome limitations of conventional bimorph and stack piezoelectric configurations. Design tradeoffs are investigated in the current research using various performance criteria such as maximum deflection, force, and strain energy. The set of design variables to optimiz...

In this study, we demonstrated a flexible and self-powered sensor based on piezoelectric fibers in the diameter range of nano- and micro-scales. Our work is distinctively different from previous electrospinning research; we fabricated this apparatus precisely via near-field electrospinning which has a spectacular performance to harvest mechanical deformation in arbitrary direction and a novel c...

Piezoelectric materials have received considerable attention from the smart structure community because of their potential use as sensors, actuators and power harvesters. In particular, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has been proposed in recent years as an enabling material for a variety of sensing and energy harvesting applications. In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNT) are included within a P...

Bone mass distribution and structure are dependent on mechanical stress and adaptive response at cellular and tissue levels. Mechanical stimulation of bone induces new bone formation in vivo and increases the metabolic activity and gene expression of osteoblasts in culture. A wide variety of devices have been tested for mechanical stimulation of cells and tissues in vitro. The aim of this work ...

1 Recent progress in the application of the electro-mechanical (E/M) impedance method to structural health monitoring, damage detection, and failure prevention is presented. A brief review of the E/M impedance method principles is followed by applications to bolted and spot-welded structural joints, and to polymeric composite overlays to construction engineering structures. The modeling of the ...

The polymer piezoelectric polvinylidene fluoride has found widespread use in sensors and actuators. The bending mode of piezoelectricity offers very high sensitivities and low mechanical input impedance, but has not been studied in as much detail for sensor applications. We report the dynamic electromechanical properties of millimeter size cantilevers made from electroded films of PVF2. All dev...

Abstract Converting mechanical energy from either the ambient environment or human body motions to useful electrical will revolutionize power solutions for flexible electronics. Here, a hybrid harvesting strategy is reported, which combines porous polymeric piezoelectric film with an electrostatic layer as integration converting into energy. The materials through engineered microstructures are ...