Bioinspired responsive and self-healing materials

Biology makes a wealth of advanced functional materials such as bone, that is stiff yet tough, and blue mussel byssus that possesses abilities for underwater adhesion and self-healing. We investigate structural aspects of biological materials, bioinspired crystallization and bioinspired synthesis of soft materials. I will discuss our work on synthesis of bioinspired responsive and self-healing materials. These are inspired by the self-healing coating of the blue mussel byssus that features proteins rich in catechols, through the amino acid DOPA, and amines, through the amino acid lysine. By combining catechols, catechol-analogues and plant polyphenols like tannic acid with synthetic amine containing polymers, we have made multiresponsive hydrogels whose properties depend on pH but also on the presence of trivalent metal ions. The catechol-metal coordination bonds are reversible, which imbues the materials with rapid self-healing properties.

Bio: Henrik Birkedal is Associate Professor of chemistry at Aarhus University, Denmark. Following a master’s degree in chemistry from University of Copenhagen, he obtained his PhD (with the Félicitations du Jury) from Université de Lausanne, Switzerland in 2000. Following postdoctoral stays in Lausanne and at University of California, Santa Barbara, he obtained career grants from the Danish Research Councils for an assistant professorship (2004) and associate professorship (2007) and transitioned into his current position in 2009.
At Aarhus University he is an integral part of the interdisciplinary nanoscience center (iNANO) and part of the leadership of the new cross-departmental Aarhus University Center for Integrated Materials Research (iMAT). His research focusses on biological and bioinspired materials and combines high end characterization of materials structure by advanced synchrotron scattering, diffraction and imaging studies with synthesis of bioinspired materials.