Switchable thermoresponsive materials

Thermoresponsive polymers based on oligo(ethylene glycol) acrylates or methacrylates can be easily prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization under straightforward experimental conditions (i.e. in bulk or in ethanol solution and in the presence of commercially available catalysts). Thus, these stimuli-responsive macromolecules can be exploited for preparing a wide range of smart advanced materials such as thermoreversible hydrogels, thermoresponsive block-copolymer micelles and switchable surfaces. Hence, some of the results... [Pg.199]

The first section of Part One provides a detailed overview of switchable and responsive materials, exploring thermoresponsive polymers (Chapter 1), environmentally responsive polyelectrolytes and zwitterionic polymers (Chapter 2), peptide/protein-based natural responsive materials (Chapter 3), and photonic sensitive switchable materials (Chapter 4). [Pg.1]

The most popular examples of switchable substrates are the thermosensitive surfaces that change from hydrophobic to hydrophilic substrates upon small temperature changes. Thermoresponsive polymers, which exhibit a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water close to body temperature, are the mostly used responsive materials to produce surfaces with tunable cell attachment/detachment (da Silva et /., 2007). [Pg.302]