Human skin inspires flexible fracture control method

Described in Scientific Reports, the research could help extend the life of some biomedical devices by directing cracks away from crucial components. The team engineered a series of single and dual-layer membranes from silicone-based polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), an inert, nontoxic material widely used in biomedical research. The layers were embedded with tiny channels meant to guide any cracks that form. If the membranes were part of a biomedical device, they could control how any cracks developed, potentially avoiding damage to critical areas of flexible electronics, for example, and extending the device’s functional lifespan.

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"Even though this membrane looks and feels exactly like a normal, boring membrane, you stretch it and you can get cracks to deviate at 45-degree angles away from where it ordinarily would have cracked,” said research lead Guy German, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Binghamton.