Smart tissue, biocompatible coatings for implants, composites for ultrasensitive sensors and 3D endoprostheses are currently being developed by scientists from Russian universities involved in the Priority 2030 program. This is a Priority 2030 University Support Program, which involves 106 universities.
Grants and support will put forward research into smart materials. Scientists from universities involved in the program spoke about their promising results.
Tomsk State University
In 2023, a new materials science center will be opened at Tomsk State University to develop advanced technologies for creating materials for the defense industry and medicine. Scientists plan to use 3D printing technologies, electron beam and ion-plasma methods, and conventional and powder metallurgy.
Among other things, scientists plan to develop wear-resistant, biocompatible coatings with a thickness of not more than 100 nanometers with an antibacterial effect, capable of deforming under extreme conditions up to 3% without fracture. Such materials can reduce the survival rate and increase biocompatibility.
“New implant materials will be able to withstand alternating physiological loads from biological tissues in the range of 6% reversible deformations. These are symmetrical cyclic deformations on the implant from the side of biological tissues, in particular during breathing. For example, implants to replace fragments or entire ribs. In terms of configuration, they will match the defects to be replaced and perform the functions of lost organs,” explains Ekaterina Marchenko, head of the Laboratory for Medical Alloys and Implants with Shape Memory, TSU.
It is also planned to develop technologies for obtaining high-purity materials in the new center. They will provide a 3-fold increase in the endurance of implants. Modeling will help elaborate technologies for hyper-elastic 3D endoprostheses made of titanium alloys, which will reduce the process of manufacturing an individual implant to two hours. These endoprostheses can replace thin bone and cartilage tissues of the face, such as nasal septa or infraorbital areas.
The opening of the materials science center is scheduled for 2023, and the scientists plan to receive the main results of the project teams led by TSU Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation Alexander Vorozhtsov in 2024.
National Research Saratov State University named after N. G. Chernyshevsky
National Research Saratov State University plans to create the formations of hybrid nanostructured materials, which are based on single-layer carbon nanotubes and monolayer graphene sheets on a SiO2 substrate. Alexey Koronovsky, SSU Vice-Rector for Research and Digital Development, spoke about this.
“The synthesized nanomaterials will form the basis for the design of flexible transparent screens, medical sensors, gas sensors and atomic emission cathodes for flat radiation hardened electronic devices. A new hybrid nanomaterial will be synthesized under exposure to single pulses of laser radiation. The formed planar 3D meshes will exhibit the highest hardness for similar meshes of carbon nanostructures of various topologies and dimensions, including multilayer carbon nanotubes and individual graphene sheets. The hardness of the synthesized nanomaterial will attain at least 52.7 GPa, and the electrical conductivity will be 23×106 S/m and higher. These values exceed those for individual nanotubes and graphene sheets. The expected increase in the energy density of laser pulses will provide a self-assembly of a hybrid nanomaterial. The resulting carbon grids are promising for planar electronics, which provide flexible/extensible electronics, wearable electronics, and sensors as an electronic component base.”
ITMO University
The 2030 program will allow ITMO to create 5 M-platforms, special ecosystems and functional associations for integrating the research, technology and innovation activities of the university. They will help develop cooperation with industrial partners and development institutions to generate new technological solutions. Aleksey Slobozhanyuk, coordinator of the strategic project Scientific and Technological Breakthrough, Dean of the ITMO Faculty of Engineering and Research, spoke about these prospects.
“We will open frontier laboratories for scientific projects focused on the cutting edge science. This will enable training of competitive personnel and implementation of projects based on the full innovation cycle to meet current challenges.”
A number of M-platforms and frontier laboratories will employ advanced composite materials, including two-dimensional ones, to create ultra-sensitive sensors for transition to high-tech healthcare. A separate focus is on the implementation of green technologies and environmentally friendly projects. One of the promising areas of the research carried out by ITMO research groups is associated with the use of breakthrough materials – perovskites, which can significantly simplify the development of alternative energy devices, while maintaining or even making them superior to existing analogues in terms of efficiency.
Source: Scientific Russia.