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Sunlight activated film forming adhesive polymers
Nigel C S Tan1, Ivan Djordjevic1, Jamie Ann Malley2
1School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), 639798, Singapore.
Summary
New carbene-based bioadhesives are stable in indoor light but rapidly activate under direct sunlight. This study demonstrates tunable adhesion strength using natural sunlight, offering potential for topical films and sunscreens.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Biomaterials Engineering
Background:
- Stimuli-sensitive biomaterials require formulations stable in ambient light but activatable in sunlight.
- Carbene-based bioadhesives offer light-triggered activation but require evaluation under natural sunlight.
- Existing platforms include aryl-diazirine grafted onto polyamidoamine dendrimers (PAMAM-NH2) or polycaprolactone tetrol.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the sunlight-activated bioadhesion of carbene-based polymers for the first time.
- To explore structure-property relationships influencing bioadhesion under natural sunlight.
- To assess the impact of sunlight intensity, polymer structure, and optical concentrators on activation.
Main Methods:
- Evaluation of two carbene-based platforms (G5-Dzx and CaproGlu) under natural sunlight up to 10 mW·cm−2.
- Investigation of adhesion strength based on sunlight dose, polymer type, and use of magnifying glass/Fresnel lens concentrators.
- Measurement of crosslinking times and adhesion strength (kPa).
Main Results:
- Carbene-based polymers demonstrated stability under indoor lighting conditions.
- Rapid sunlight-induced crosslinking and tunable adhesion strength (20–150 kPa) achieved in under 1 minute.
- Successful activation using natural sunlight, unaffected by indoor lighting.
Conclusions:
- Carbene-based polymers represent a viable class of stimuli-sensitive biomaterials for sunlight-triggered applications.
- These materials are stable under indoor lighting and rapidly activated by direct sunlight.
- Potential applications include topical film-forming polymers and active ingredients in sunscreen formulations.
