NRP 62 Smart Materials

The National Research Programme “Smart Materials“ (NRP 62) was a cooperation programme between the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the former Innovation Promotion Agency CTI (today Innosuisse).

The aim of NRP 62 was to explore the interaction of physical, chemical and biological properties of materials. The focus was on designing new systems that are able to react to changing external influences. In addition to the promotion of interdisciplinary and innovative projects at the interface between basic and applied research, the second phase focused on the development of new products for practical use.

The 21 research projects were divided into four thematic modules, which partially overlapped in content:

Module 1: Smart shape transformers for macroscopic use

Module 2: Stimuli-responsive materials for the microscopic range

Module 3: Smart drug delivery materials

Module 4: Exploratory research for smart materials

• Call for proposals NRP 62 (PDF)
• NRP 62 Programme portrait (PDF)
• Press release 19.03.2015: NRP 62 Project Highlights (PDF)
• News 19.03.2015: Smart materials, smart researchers (PDF)

Video: Overview of NRP 62 and its results

• NRP 62 – Overview of research programme

Executive Summaries covering the 21 research projects

Module 1

• Fabrication technology of smart dielectric elastomer transducers (PDF)
• New approaches to shape and stiffness changing materials (PDF)
• Porous shape-memory scaffolds as mechanically active bone implants (PDF)
• Smart magnetic shape memory alloy composites (PDF)
• Superelastic compliant surgery tools (PDF)

Module 2

• Bio-inspired mechanically adaptive nanocomposites (PDF)
• Magnetic elastomers for actuators (PDF)
• Palladium-doped perovskite catalysts for natural gas vehicles (PDF)
• Single-molecule mechanics of dendronized polymers (PDF)

Module 3

• Blood sugar measurement through the skin (PDF)
• Conditional triggered drug release from nanocontainers (PDF)
• Intelligent synthetic nanosize organelles for cancer therapy (PDF)
• Nanocontainers for local drug delivery to open heart vessels in case of heart attack (PDF)
• Nanofibres for intelligent drug delivery (PDF)
• Self-heating hydrogel for mechanically-controlled drug release (PDF)
• Smart in-vivo drug delivery (PDF)

Module 4

• Electro-mechanical coupling in lead-free piezoelectric materials (PDF)
• Functional biomimetic surface (PDF)
• Functional organic and organometallic materials for molecular electronic applications (PDF)
• Integrated nanoparticles for future single electron units (PDF)
• Synthetic fibre with fluid core for damping applications (PDF)

Videos

In the second phase of NRP 62, 14 projects were given further funding that had particularly high potential for practical applications. These projects are presented in the following videos:

• Project "Materials for molecular electronic applications"
• Project "Bacterial sensor for intelligent drug release"
• Project "Imitating mother nature - intelligent nanocomposites"
• Project "Designing smart vesicles for drug delivery"
• Project "Drugs with pathfinding functions"
• Project "Magnetic elastomers for actuators, sensors and magnetic memory storage"
• Project "Smart catalysts for a clean enviroment"
• Project "Intelligent materials take care of premature infants"
• Project "Healing on demand - while you are walking"
• Project "Mechanic bone implants"
• Project "Intelligent responsive nanofibers"
• Project "Lead-free piezoelectric materials"
• Project "NO-Stess, a specific coronary vasodilator"
• Project "A nano-factory in the body"

• Collection on Youtube