Nanoparticles can stop the wrinkling process. As thin polymer films become more important in new technology such as electronic monitors, these nanoparticles can stop buckling and wrinkling.
There is potential to use infinitesimally small nanoparticles, 50nm, between films to smooth out the tiny buckles that cause wrinkles, said Ilsoon Lee, a Michigan State University assistant professor of chemical engineering, who wrote a paper outlining the process along with Ph.D. student Troy Hendricks.
While the paper is about breakthroughs in the buckling of polymer films as they compress or heat during the manufacturing process, Ilsoon said the principles can apply to human skin.
“Everything starts at a really small scale, so if we can prevent the buckling at the very beginning—at the nano level—we can eliminate large scale wrinkles,” Ilsoon said. “Wrinkles can initiate from the small scale, and when it grows we cannot remove it.”
Nanoparticles already have entered the cosmetic marketplace because they can penetrate deeper into the skin, transporting vitamins and other compounds to plump and smooth tissue. But Ilsoon envisions thin films that can go beneath the thinning outer layer of the skin, the epidermis, that over time stiffens and buckles with aging, and the thicker dermis beneath it, which remains more pliable over time.
Nanoparticles spread in a thin film can break up the compressive forces on a plane and redirect them, Ilsoon said. Once the force goes below the critical buckling strain, the film will not buckle. No buckles, no wrinkles. The nanoparticles in the film can be stress busters without affecting the neighboring layers.
“The wrinkle-free films will automatically absorb or deflect the stress and stay flat, just as they are after formation,” he said.
Nanoparticle films wouldn’t be a face-lift itself, but Ilsoon sees the possibility in a film that doctors could insert during a cosmetic procedure, such as an eyelift, to stabilize the improvements and prevent further wrinkling. He also sees applications in medical procedures, such as artificial skin for surgery.
Ilsoon’s lab is already testing polymer films by applying various cells and proteins to see if there are toxic reactions.
For related information, go to www.isa.org/manufacturing_automation.