@article{ZhaoDunlopQiuetal.2014,
  author    = {Zhao, Qiang and Dunlop, John William Chapman and Qiu, Xunlin and Huang, Feihe and Zhang, Zibin and Heyda, Jan and Dzubiella, Joachim and Antonietti, Markus and Yuan, Jiayin},
  title     = {An instant multi-responsive porous polymer actuator driven by solvent molecule sorption},
  series = {Nature Communications},
  volume    = {5},
  journal   = {Nature Communications},
  publisher = {Nature Publ. Group},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {2041-1723},
  doi       = {10.1038/ncomms5293},
  pages     = {8},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Fast actuation speed, large-shape deformation and robust responsiveness are critical to synthetic soft actuators. A simultaneous optimization of all these aspects without trade-offs remains unresolved. Here we describe porous polymer actuators that bend in response to acetone vapour (24 kPa, 20 degrees C) at a speed of an order of magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art, coupled with a large-scale locomotion. They are meanwhile multi-responsive towards a variety of organic vapours in both the dry and wet states, thus distinctive from the traditional gel actuation systems that become inactive when dried. The actuator is easy-to-make and survives even after hydrothermal processing (200 degrees C, 24 h) and pressing-pressure (100 MPa) treatments. In addition, the beneficial responsiveness is transferable, being able to turn 'inert' objects into actuators through surface coating. This advanced actuator arises from the unique combination of porous morphology, gradient structure and the interaction between solvent molecules and actuator materials.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{XuAngiolettiUbertiLuetal.2018,
  author    = {Xu, Xiao and Angioletti-Uberti, Stefano and Lu, Yan and Dzubiella, Joachim and Ballauff, Matthias},
  title     = {Interaction of Proteins with Polyelectrolytes},
  series = {Langmuir},
  volume    = {35},
  journal   = {Langmuir},
  number    = {16},
  publisher = {American Chemical Society},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {0743-7463},
  doi       = {10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b01802},
  pages     = {5373 -- 5391},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {We discuss recent investigations of the interaction of polyelectrolytes with proteins. In particular, we review our recent studies on the interaction of simple proteins such as human serum albumin (HSA) and lysozyme with linear polyelectrolytes, charged dendrimers, charged networks, and polyelectrolyte brushes. In all cases discussed here, we combined experimental work with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and mean-field theories. In particular, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) has been employed to obtain the respective binding constants K-b and the Gibbs free energy of binding. MD simulations with explicit counterions but implicit water demonstrate that counterion release is the main driving force for the binding of proteins to strongly charged polyelectrolytes: patches of positive charges located on the surface of the protein become multivalent counterions of the polyelectrolyte, thereby releasing a number of counterions condensed on the polyelectrolyte. The binding Gibbs free energy due to counterion release is predicted to scale with the logarithm of the salt concentration in the system, which is verified by both simulations and experiment. In several cases, namely, for the interaction of proteins with linear polyelectrolytes and highly charged hydrophilic dendrimers, the binding constant could be calculated from simulations to very good approximation. This finding demonstrated that in these cases explicit hydration effects do not contribute to the Gibbs free energy of binding. The Gibbs free energy can also be used to predict the kinetics of protein uptake by microgels for a given system by applying dynamic density functional theory. The entire discussion demonstrates that the direct comparison of theory with experiments can lead to a full understanding of the interaction of proteins with charged polymers. Possible implications for applications, such as drug design, are discussed.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MeiKochovskiRoaetal.2019,
  author    = {Mei, Shilin and Kochovski, Zdravko and Roa, Rafael and Gu, Sasa and Xu, Xiaohui and Yu, Hongtao and Dzubiella, Joachim and Ballauff, Matthias and Lu, Yan},
  title     = {Enhanced Catalytic Activity of Gold@Polydopamine Nanoreactors with Multi-compartment Structure Under NIR Irradiation},
  series = {Nano-Micro Letters},
  volume    = {11},
  journal   = {Nano-Micro Letters},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Shanghai JIAO TONG univ press},
  address   = {Shanghai},
  issn      = {2311-6706},
  doi       = {10.1007/s40820-019-0314-9},
  pages     = {16},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Photothermal conversion (PTC) nanostructures have great potential for applications in many fields, and therefore, they have attracted tremendous attention. However, the construction of a PTC nanoreactor with multi-compartment structure to achieve the combination of unique chemical properties and structural feature is still challenging due to the synthetic difficulties. Herein, we designed and synthesized a catalytically active, PTC gold (Au)@polydopamine (PDA) nanoreactor driven by infrared irradiation using assembled PS-b-P2VP nanosphere as soft template. The particles exhibit multi-compartment structure which is revealed by 3D electron tomography characterization technique. They feature permeable shells with tunable shell thickness. Full kinetics for the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol has been investigated using these particles as nanoreactors and compared with other reported systems. Notably, a remarkable acceleration of the catalytic reaction upon near-infrared irradiation is demonstrated, which reveals for the first time the importance of the synergistic effect of photothermal conversion and complex inner structure to the kinetics of the catalytic reduction. The ease of synthesis and fresh insights into catalysis will promote a new platform for novel nanoreactor studies.},
  language  = {en}
}