Applying biopolymer-based nanooptics to biological tissues is an important research theme that will lead the next generation health care industry. The main factors impeding the stable operation of these devices are the large deformation and humid environment of living tissues. Therefore, the nanooptical devices must satisfy deformability, durability, and biocompatibility at the same time. The photonic crystals (PhCs) efficiently manipulate photons at the nanoscale and using reliable biocompatible materials for the PhCs can lead to fascinating bioapplications such as in vivo biosensors and artificial ocular prostheses.
In this dissertation, I will present deformable and conformal silk hydrogel inverse opal (SHIO), which can be deformed by mechanical strain, is realized by the UV cross-linking of a liquid stilbene/silk solution The SHIO has excellent biocompatibility and the transparent and elastic hydrogel form is very advantageous as a biosensor. When the SHIO has mechanical deformation such as stretching, bending, and compressing, the lattice constant of the structure changes and the pseudo-photonics band gap (pseudo-PBG) of the SHIO can be stably tuned. Proof-of-concept experiments demonstrate that it can be applied as an intraocular pressure sensor or an ocular prosthesis for better night vision of human.
