%0 journal article
%@ 2059-8521
%A Rodriguez, N.,Bastola, A.,Behl, M.,Soffiatti, P.,Rowe, N.,Lendlein, A.

%D 2021
%J MRS Advances
%N 25
%P 625-630 
%R doi:10.1557/s43580-021-00081-6
%T Approaches of combining a 3D-printed elastic structure and a hydrogel to create models for plant-inspired actuators
%U https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-021-00081-6
25 
%X Inspired by the interesting functional traits of a climbing cactus, Selenicereus setaceus, found in the forest formations of Southeastern Brazil, we formulated a hypothesis that we can directly learn from the plants to develop multi-functional artificial systems by means of a multi-disciplinary approach. In this context, our approach is to take advantage of 3D-printing techniques and shape-memory hydrogels synergistically to mimic the functional traits of the cactus. This work reports on the preliminary investigation of cactus-inspired artificial systems. First, we 3D-printed soft polymeric materials and characterized them, which defines the structure and is a passive component of a multi-material system. Second, different hydrogels were synthesized and characterized, which is an active component of a multi-material system. Finally, we investigated how the hydrogel can be integrated into the 3D-printed constructs to develop artificial functional systems.