INTRODUCTION The aim was to examine the influence of the SCN1A gene polymorphism IVS5-91 rs3812718 G>A on the response to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in monotherapy or polytherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS Two hundred epilepsy patients and 200 healthy subjects were genotyped for SCN1A IVS5-91 rs3812718 G>A polymorphism using TaqMan assay. Patients were divided into drug-responsive and drug-resista...

Bio-responsive polymer architectures can empower medical therapies by engaging molecular feedback-response mechanisms resembling the homeostatic adaptation of living tissues to varying environmental constraints. Here we show that a blood coagulation-responsive hydrogel system can deliver heparin in amounts triggered by the environmental levels of thrombin, the key enzyme of the coagulation casc...

Intracellular processes, including endosomal escape and intracellular release, are efficiency-determining steps in achieving successful gene delivery. It has been found that the presence of acid-labile units in polymers can facilitate endosomal escape and that the presence of reducible units in polymers can lead to intracellular release. In this study, poly(amido amine)s with both bioreducible ...

3D printing has been intensively explored to fabricate customized structures of responsive materials including hydrogels, liquid-crystal elastomers, shape-memory polymers, and aqueous droplets. Herein, a new method and material system capable of 3D-printing hydrogel inks with programed bacterial cells as responsive components into large-scale (3 cm), high-resolution (30 μm) living materials, wh...

Stimuli?responsive hydrogels are important in soft actuators research, as they change volume response to environmental factors. Thermoresponsive hydrogels, such poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM), typically have slow rates and exert comparably weak forces, which usually limit their use artificial muscles. Herein, it is shown that the incorporation of interconnected microchannels into pNIPAM h...