Picture a high-tech version of Silly Putty that generates electricity. It would be capable of speeding up wound healing, delivering medication through the skin, or even producing clean energy, among other inventive uses.
Researchers at the University of Guelph (U of G) have developed a slime-like material that generates electricity when compressed. The material is biocompatible and comprises 90% water, oleic acid (in olive oil), and amino acids. It has many potential applications, from clean energy generation to medical uses and robotics.
Using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan, the team discovered that the material could form microscopic structures, such as sponge-like arrangements, layered formations, or hexagonal patterns. This structural flexibility, controlled by applying an electric field, opens possibilities for targeted drug delivery. “Imagine the material taking an initial structure that contains a pharmaceutical substance and then, when an electric field is applied, the structure changes to release the medicine,” said lead researcher Erica Pensini, an associate professor at U of G, quoted in the University of Saskatchewan’s Canadian Light Source publication.
The material could also be used in bandages to promote faster wound healing. “Our bodies produce small electric fields to attract healing cells to an open wound,” Pensini explained. “By creating a bandage that increases this electric field, healing could theoretically happen faster.”
In addition to medical applications, the material could generate clean energy when installed in floors or used in shoe insoles to analyze gait. It might even be synthetic skin for robots, helping them gauge pressure when performing tasks like checking a patient’s pulse.
Pensini emphasized the material’s safety and simplicity. “I wanted to make something that is 100% benign and that I would put on my skin without any concerns,” she said. She even plans to test it as a salve for her hands after rock climbing, joking, “I need an initial guinea pig, so it might as well be me, right?”
The research, conducted in collaboration with U of G professors Alejandro G. Marangoni, Aicheng Chen, and Stefano Gregori, was published in the Journal of Molecular Liquids. The team’s work highlights the material’s potential to bridge energy, healthcare, and robotics gaps, offering innovative solutions rooted in natural, sustainable ingredients.
