Our research team combines three main research directions: the fabrication of composite magnet-controlled soft robots, the creation of flexible electronics based on liquid metals and the development of new synthetic approaches for the synthesis of materials for energy, green and sustainable chemistry.
Soft robotics is a promising interdisciplinary area for solving problems in the field of biomedicine and advanced minimally invasive surgery. Recent advances in functional soft materials have contributed to the emergence of a new class of soft robots capable of activating the magnetic field. Among the various types of irritant-reactive materials, magnetic soft materials have shown significant progress in terms of designs and fabrication techniques, which led to the development of magnetic soft robots with unique advantages and potential for many important applications. We focus on magnetic soft robots for minimally invasive surgery. In particular, we have implemented projects to create robots to remove clots from vessels and to clean the catheters from biofilms.
The second direction of our group is the creation of magnetic and magnetoelectric sensors for bioelectronic applications. At the moment, the development of bioelectronic interfaces and their applications (point-of-care, artificial responsive skin for implants, the formation of human-machine interfaces for augmented and artificial reality) is limited by the new materials and mechanisms, which at the same time can provide sufficient sensitivity of the device to biomechanical stimuli, biocompatibility and autonomous operation.
Flexible electronics is a worldwide technological trend, which is driven by the need for compact and electronic devices and the creation of biointerfaces. In this context, liquid metals and alloys based on gallium (GaIn, GaInSn) are promising materials for manufacturing flexible electronic devices using additive technologies (3D printing, inkjet printing, laser engraving, etc.) and Ga-based composites.
Synthesis of various materials (materials chemistry) is one of the basic directions of research of our laboratory in the field of chemical sciences. We aim to find innovative synthesis methods that will produce functional materials cheaper, simpler, faster and more reproducible than existing analogues. Today we focus on the use of liquid metals (eutectic alloys based on gallium, alkali metals) as reagents for the synthesis of micromaterials with a given morphology, as well as porous nanomaterials of metal and metalloid composition. Such materials have great prospects for use in anode batteries, as well as in heterogeneous catalysis, which we also test and prove experimentally.
The global goal of our laboratory is to create a full-fledged biointerface "exoskeleton", which would allow monitoring the condition of the circulatory system, the level of stress, the concentration of medicinal substances in tissues, etc. in real time, without requiring additional energy sources and without reducing the quality of human life. Such devices will in the future enable people with cardiovascular, metabolic or oncological diseases, as well as athletes, to monitor their health status and to provide themselves with the necessary medication in time. The development of the above three lines of research will provide this concept with everything it needs: from new materials for flexible wearable energy sources and biosensors to polymer composites for body motion control, energy generation and design of biointerfaces.