Quantitative models are required to engineer biomaterials with environmentally responsive properties. With this goal in mind, we developed a model that describes the pH-dependent phase behavior of a class of stimulus responsive elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) that undergo reversible phase separation in response to their solution environment. Under isothermal conditions, charged ELPs can underg...

Glucose-responsive systems that can change their volumes or other properties in response to glucose concentration, show great potential as drug delivery carriers for controlled release of insulin for diabetes therapy or targeted delivery of anticancer drugs for cancer treatment. In this study, we report on a novel type of monodisperse phenylboronic acid (PBA)-based microcapsules for glucose-res...

This study developed novel triblock pH-responsive polymeric micelles (PMs) using cholic acid-polyethyleneimine-poly-L-arginine (CA-PEI-pArg) copolymers. PEI provided pH sensitivity, while the hydrophilic cell-penetrating pArg peptide promoted cellular PM internalization. The copolymers self-assembled into PMs in aqueous solution at above the critical micelle concentration (2.98 × 10-7 M) and en...

Stimuli-responsive hydrogels exhibit structural changes based on changes in local temperature or pH and analytes and are highly valued in fields ranging from controlled drug release to tissue repair and also in microdevices. Hydrogels that respond to external stimuli, such as light or magnetic fields, offer additional advantageswith respect to on-demandand triggered response. With this in mind,...

There is a bright future in the development and utilization of nanoscale systems based on intelligent materials that can respond to external input providing a beneficial function. Specific functional groups can be incorporated into polymers to make them responsive to environmental stimuli such as pH, temperature, or varying concentrations of biomolecules. The fusion of such "intelligent" biomat...