J. Araujo-Morera, M. A. López-Manchado, R. Verdejo and M. Hernández Santana, Polymer, 2022, 238, 124399 CrossRef CAS.

S. Utrera-Barrios, R. Verdejo, M. Á. López-Manchado and M. Hernández Santana, Int. J. Mol. Sci., 2022, 23, 4757 CrossRef CAS PubMed. Y. F. Zhang, N. Zhang, H. Hingorani, N. Ding, D. Wang, C. Yuan, B. Zhang, G. Gu and Q. Ge, Adv. Funct. Mater., 2019, 29, 1806698 CrossRef. Other self-healing polymers based on different dynamic chemistries including hydrogen bonding 23–25 or disulfide metathesis 26,27 and extrinsic mechanisms, 28 have also been used in soft robotics. 12 Despite these advancements, the potential application of well-established general-purpose self-healing rubber remains unexplored. In addition, the mechanical performance of the materials available in the current state-of-the-art has its limitation. This includes low moduli, low fracture stress and non-negligible viscous effects. This stems from the low bond energy of the reversible crosslinks, that leads to breaking of the bonds at low stresses. Although the resulting self-healing soft robotics can generate large deformations, their payload is very limited. For soft robots to be competitive they need to be able to withstand forces that are comparable to traditional rigid robotics. In addition, they have to be controlled, in position or force. Time-dependent behaviors that result from viscous effects in their materials largely complicate their control, or make them impossible to control. In addition, viscous losses in the material lead to a decrease in efficiency of the soft robot. Hence, there is a clear need for self-healing elastomers in soft robotics that combine excellent (dynamic) mechanical properties with a self-healing capacity. Y. Gao, X. Fang, D. Tran, K. Ju, B. Qian and J. Li, R Soc. Open Sci., 2019, 6 DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.182145. The authors of research from 2018 describe zinc as essential to male sexual health. Reasons for this could include zinc’s roles as an antioxidant and hormone balancer.Studies suggest that zinc supplements may help support wound healing and immune response, improve certain aspects of skin health, reduce the length and severity of respiratory infections, and lower markers of oxidative stress ( 11, 12, 13, 14, 15). Fig. 7 (a) Healing efficiency of ionic elastomers at fixed temperature (110 °C) and time (3 h). Optimization of healing efficiency of (b) TS and (c) EB at different times for the selected compounds. (d) Healing efficiencies calculated using conventional and new procedures. There are several types of zinc supplements. Limited research suggests that some forms, such as zinc picolinate and zinc citrate, may be better absorbed than others, like zinc oxide. However, more recent studies are needed ( 3, 4). Dosage A small study from 2020 concluded that there may be a link between low zinc levels and neurological symptoms.

Garden of Life is a whole foods-based supplement brand with products that are certified organic and non-GMO verified. Taking too much zinc from high dose zinc supplements can lead to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and headaches.Eby GA, Davis DR, Halcomb WW. Reduction in duration of common colds by zinc gluconate lozenges in a double-blind study. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1984 Jan;25(1):20-4. Available at: https://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/issue/2015/january2015/rhinovirus-in-the-elderly-the-commonest-of-colds. Accessed September 25, 2019. There is an ionization energy for each successive electron removed. The electrons that circle the nucleus move in fairly well-defined orbits. Some of these electrons are more tightly bound in the atom than others. For example, only 7.38 eV is required to remove the outermost electron from a lead atom, while 88,000 eV is required to remove the innermost electron. Helps to understand reactivity of elements (especially metals, which lose electrons).

Zinc lozenges are small tablets that are meant to dissolve slowly in your mouth. They’re typically taken for short periods to help reduce the symptoms and duration of the common cold. Look for supplements that are produced by reputable manufacturers and free of large amounts of added ingredients like fillers, additives, and preservatives.At this point in the study, one intriguing aspect to be discussed relates to the possibility of achieving healing efficiencies exceeding 100%. This raises a compelling question: How can a material that has undergone total macroscopic damage and subsequent repair exhibit performance surpassing that of the pristine samples? The influence of the healing protocol, notably the applied temperature, on material properties plays a significant role beyond healing. To comprehend the extent of this effect, in a previous study by the authors, 67 a new procedure was proposed, whereby pristine specimens were subjected to heat treatment under the same healing protocol but without inducing macroscopic rupture with a razor blade. The application of temperature to the pristine material induced an increase in the crosslink density, potentially leading to an enhancement in the mechanical properties of the material. Bearing this in mind, from a physical and comparative standpoint, it could be considered reasonable to employ the heat-treated material rather than the pristine material as the reference point for calculating healing efficiency. The newly calculated efficiency value was more realistically focused on the damage, thus suppressing the effect of the temperature. Nevertheless, in the aforementioned study, the repair mechanism was based on disulfide bond exchange, which is a dynamic but covalent mechanism that is inherently different from ionic interactions. This brings us to an interesting question: does temperature influence ionic interactions in the same way as it affects sulfur bonds? To answer this question, the new procedure was applied to the samples prepared in the current study. The efficiencies of 1.25MgO and 10ZnO (at 110 °C for 3 h) were recalculated ( Fig. 7d). In the case of TS, 79% (1.25MgO) and 66% (10ZnO) were obtained, and for EB, 95% (1.25MgO) and 71% (10ZnO) were obtained. This is still an outstanding (successful repair) but more realistic numerical result for the damage recovery process without considering the thermal effect. At equal crosslink densities, 10ZnO reached healing efficiencies of 61% in TS and 76% in EB. The presence of excess ZnO could decrease the free volume available for the motions of the XNBR chains, acting as barriers to mobility and reducing repair efficiency, due to a slowing down of the ion-hopping mechanism. This finding highlights that crosslink density alone is not the sole influence on the molecular dynamics in the self-healing process. Factors such as the free volume, steric hindrance, neutralization degree, and binding energy also play pivotal roles.

Fallah, A., et al. (2018). Zinc is an essential element for male fertility: A review of Zn roles in men's health, germination, sperm quality, and fertilization. D. Basu, S. S. Banerjee, S. Chandra Debnath, M. Malanin, L. Amirova, P. Dubois, G. Heinrich and A. Das, Polymer, 2021, 212, 123309 CrossRef CAS. Recently, Das et al. 71 investigated the ionic crosslinking of XNBR with Ni–cysteine and Zn–cysteine complexes. Compared to the Ni–cysteine compound, the XNBR cured with the Zn–cysteine complex exhibited outstanding extensibility, recyclability, and a tensile strength of 3.8 MPa, value which is distinctly lower to that of the ZnO- and MgO-based compounds prepared in the present study. However, they reported an impressive healing efficiency of 89.5% after 24 h at room temperature. This stands in contrast with our study, which requires shorter times but higher temperatures.

Roxas M, Jurenka J. Colds and influenza: a review of diagnosis and conventional, botanical, and nutritional considerations. Altern Med Rev. 2007 Mar;12(1):25-48. In addition to providing 30 mg of plant-based zinc, each serving also contains vitamin C, a raw organic fruit and vegetable blend, and live probiotics and enzymes to support healthy digestion.