Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Here, we introduce millimeter-scale fluidic reactors assembled from digital-light-processing (DLP)-printed self-healing hydrogel modules. A poly(acrylic acid-co-2-acrylamidophenylboronic acid)/poly(vinyl alcohol) formulation combines photoprintability with dynamic interfacial association. Printed modules contain straight, curved, branched, looping, and crossing channels, as well as mixing chambers. When brought into contact under ambient conditions, separate modules form liquid-tight interfaces that support continuous flow. Joined elements can subsequently be separated, rearranged, and rejoined to construct new fluidic circuits from the same building blocks. Finally, reactors containing active mixing chambers are used to perform a competitive thiol–maleimide reaction. Changing only the position at which two competing thiols enter the reactor shifts the apparent product ratio from 95:5 to 17:83 or 94:6. These results establish self-healing interfaces as reversible fluidic connections and provide a materials-based strategy for constructing reconfigurable flow reactors.
Source: ChemRxiv
Institution: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214075941