Robust clinical laboratory IT solutions could arise from plastics research

Plastic plays a crucial role in many clinical laboratory IT solutions, insulating wires from one another when connecting multiple circuit boards together.

However, scientists at Duke University have now discovered that the presence of an electrical current itself can break down soft plastic.

Xuanhe Zhao, who works in the university's Pratt School of Engineering as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, explains that the phenomenon is not new, but its observation is.

"We have long known that these polymers will eventually break down, or fail, when subjected to an increasing electrical voltage," he says.

"Now we can actually watch the process as it happens in real time."

The research could lead not only to new polymers for use in clinical laboratory IT solutions, but also to applications in energy harvesting.

Primarily used in small wireless devices, this is the process by which energy from the environment - in the form of heat, slight motion, vibration or light - is retrieved and used as a power source.