An invention developed by Michigan State University researchers has the potential to enhance safety, lower the number of serious injuries, and boost survival rates in various scenarios, including auto accidents, sporting events, law enforcement missions, and more. The study was published in Nature Scientific Reports.
Liquid nanofoam inside a plastic pouch. Image Credit: Michigan State University
In 2020 and 2022, Weiyi Lu, an Associate Professor at MSU’s College of Engineering, developed a liquid nanofoam material consisting of tiny water-filled pores, which has demonstrated effectiveness in protecting the brain from traumatic injuries when used as a football helmet liner. Engineers and scientists at MSU have now enhanced this technology to protect important internal organs as well.
Falls, car accidents, and other collisions can result in blunt force injuries and organ damage, which can produce life-threatening situations. These injuries, which include internal lacerations, ruptures, hemorrhage, and organ failure, are frequently caused by extreme mechanical force or pressure that does not pierce the body like a cut but instead seriously damages the organs.
Together, Lu and Yun Liang, an Assistant Professor at the College of Osteopathic Medicine, are investigating how the liquid nanofoam might shield interior organs from blunt force injuries.
We improved the liquid nanofoam by adjusting its protective response to match biological organs. Then, we sealed the liquid nanofoam material inside a plastic pouch about the size of a quarter and made the new protection layer flexible and moldable enough to be worn comfortably against the body.
Weiyi Lu, Associate Professor, College of Engineering, Michigan State University
The pouch was employed as a protective cover, placed over a tissue sample, and then crushed by a machine with sufficient force to simulate a blunt force trauma event to test the capabilities of Lu's liquid nanofoam.
For the first time, we are trying to understand how trauma is introduced by mechanical force and effectively mitigated it by using liquid nanofoam. We are trying to understand the force needed to damage an internal organ, which will be then converted into the future design criteria for protective materials.
Yun Liang, Assistant Professor, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University
Without causing harm to living tissue, Lu and Liang discovered that the liquid nanofoam could tolerate a mechanical force equivalent to blunt force trauma. The liver, kidneys, heart, and lungs were among the biological tissues that Liang and her team showed were shielded from pressures and forces equivalent to those caused by blunt force trauma injuries by the liquid nanofoam.
I could see with my eyes that there’s literally no damage. I was totally amazed.
Yun Liang, Assistant Professor, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University
Future uses for the liquid nanofoam might include lining the walls of an earthquake-proof room, applying it as a protective layer inside an automobile's framework, or wearing it near the body as a protective vest. These uses could save lives and stop blunt-force trauma events from damaging tissue and organs.
The MSU Tetrad Initiative for Interdisciplinary Research has funded the study.
Journal Reference:
Yang, F., et al. (2025) Effective protection of biological tissues from severe blunt force injury by engineered nanoscale liquid flow. Nature Scientific Reports. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-80490-3