@article{BourgatTierschKoetzetal.2020,
  author    = {Bourgat, Yannick and Tiersch, Brigitte and Koetz, Joachim and Menzel, Henning},
  title     = {Enzyme degradable polymersomes from chitosan-g-[poly-l-lysine-block-epsilon-caprolactone] copolymer},
  series = {Macromolecular bioscience},
  volume    = {21},
  journal   = {Macromolecular bioscience},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Wiley-VCH},
  address   = {Weinheim},
  issn      = {1616-5187},
  doi       = {10.1002/mabi.202000259},
  pages     = {1 -- 9},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {The scope of this study includes the synthesis of chitosan-g-[peptide-poly-epsilon-caprolactone] and its self-assembly into polymeric vesicles employing the solvent shift method. In this way, well-defined core-shell structures suitable for encapsulation of drugs are generated. The hydrophobic polycaprolactone side-chain and the hydrophilic chitosan backbone are linked via an enzyme-cleavable peptide. The synthetic route involves the functionalization of chitosan with maleimide groups and the preparation of polycaprolactone with alkyne end-groups. A peptide functionalized with a thiol group on one side and an azide group on the other side is prepared. Thiol-ene click-chemistry and azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition are then used to link the chitosan and poly-epsilon-caprolactone chains, respectively, with this peptide. For a preliminary study, poly-l-lysin is a readily available and cleavable peptide that is introduced to investigate the feasibility of the system. The size and shape of the polymersomes are studied by dynamic light scattering and cryo-scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, degradability is studied by incubating the polymersomes with two enzymes, trypsin and chitosanase. A dispersion of polymersomes is used to coat titanium plates and to further test the stability against enzymatic degradation.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BalkBehlNoecheletal.2021,
  author    = {Balk, Maria and Behl, Marc and N{\"o}chel, Ulrich and Lendlein, Andreas},
  title     = {Enzymatically triggered Jack-in-the-box-like hydrogels},
  series = {ACS applied materials \& interfaces / American Chemical Society},
  volume    = {13},
  journal   = {ACS applied materials \& interfaces / American Chemical Society},
  number    = {7},
  publisher = {American Chemical Society},
  address   = {Washington, DC},
  issn      = {1944-8244},
  doi       = {10.1021/acsami.1c00466},
  pages     = {8095 -- 8101},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Enzymes can support the synthesis or degradation of biomacromolecules in natural processes. Here, we demonstrate that enzymes can induce a macroscopic-directed movement of microstructured hydrogels following a mechanism that we call a "Jack-in-the-box" effect. The material's design is based on the formation of internal stresses induced by a deformation load on an architectured microscale, which are kinetically frozen by the generation of polyester locking domains, similar to a Jack-in-thebox toy (i.e., a compressed spring stabilized by a closed box lid). To induce the controlled macroscopic movement, the locking domains are equipped with enzyme-specific cleavable bonds (i.e., a box with a lock and key system). As a result of enzymatic reaction, a transformed shape is achieved by the release of internal stresses. There is an increase in entropy in combination with a swelling-supported stretching of polymer chains within the microarchitectured hydrogel (i.e., the encased clown pops-up with a pre-stressed movement when the box is unlocked). This utilization of an enzyme as a physiological stimulus may offer new approaches to create interactive and enzyme-specific materials for different applications such as an optical indicator of the enzyme's presence or actuators and sensors in biotechnology and in fermentation processes.},
  language  = {en}
}