TY - JOUR A1 - Fandrich, Artur A1 - Buller, Jens A1 - Wischerhoff, Erik A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Lisdat, Fred T1 - Electrochemical detection of the thermally induced phase transition of a thin stimuli-responsive polymer film JF - ChemPhysChem : a European journal of chemical physics and physical chemistry KW - cyclic voltammetry KW - electrochemical impedance spectroscopy KW - polymers KW - surface chemistry KW - surface plasmon resonance Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/cphc.201100924 SN - 1439-4235 VL - 13 IS - 8 SP - 2020 EP - 2023 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Couturier, Jean-Philippe A1 - Sütterlin, Martin A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Hettrich, Cornelia A1 - Wischerhoff, Erik T1 - Responsive Inverse Opal Hydrogels for the Sensing of Macromolecules JF - Angewandte Chemie : a journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker ; International edition N2 - Dual responsive inverse opal hydrogels were designed as autonomous sensor systems for (bio)macromolecules, exploiting the analyte-induced modulation of the opal's structural color. The systems that are based on oligo(ethylene glycol) macromonomers additionally incorporate comonomers with various recognition units. They combine a coil-to-globule collapse transition of the LCST type with sensitivity of the transition temperature toward molecular recognition processes. This enables the specific detection of macromolecular analytes, such as glycopolymers and proteins, by simple optical methods. While the inverse opal structure assists the effective diffusion even of large analytes into the photonic crystal, the stimulus responsiveness gives rise to strong shifts of the optical Bragg peak of more than 100nm upon analyte binding at a given temperature. The systems' design provides a versatile platform for the development of easy-to-use, fast, and low-cost sensors for pathogens. KW - hydrogels KW - photonic crystals KW - polymers KW - responsive materials KW - sensors Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201500674 SN - 1433-7851 SN - 1521-3773 VL - 54 IS - 22 SP - 6641 EP - 6644 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liedel, Clemens A1 - Lewin, Christian A1 - Tsarkova, Larisa A1 - Böker, Alexander T1 - Reversible Switching of Block Copolymer Nanopatterns by Orthogonal Electric Fields JF - Small N2 - It is demonstrated that the orientation of striped patterns can be reversibly switched between two perpendicular in-plane orientations upon exposure to electric fields. The results on thin films of symmetric polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinyl pyridine) polymer in the intermediate segregation regime disclose two types of reorientation mechanisms from perpendicular to parallel relative to the electric field orientation. Domains orient via grain rotation and via formation of defects such as stretched undulations and temporal phase transitions. The contribution of additional fields to the structural evolution is also addressed to elucidate the generality of the observed phenomena. In particular solvent effects are considered. This study reveals the stabilization of the meta-stable in-plane oriented lamella due to sequential swelling and quenching of the film. Further, the reorientation behavior of lamella domains blended with selective nanoparticles is addressed, which affect the interfacial tensions of the blocks and hence introduce another internal field to the studied system. Switching the orientation of aligned block copolymer patterns between two orthogonal directions may open new applications of nanomaterials as switchable electric nanowires or optical gratings. KW - alignments KW - block copolymers KW - electric fields KW - reorientation KW - solvent vapor annealing KW - polymers Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201502259 SN - 1613-6810 SN - 1613-6829 VL - 11 IS - 45 SP - 6058 EP - 6064 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vukicevic, Radovan A1 - Neffe, Axel T. A1 - Luetzow, Karola A1 - Pierce, Benjamin F. A1 - Lendlein, Andreas T1 - Conditional Ultrasound Sensitivity of Poly[(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-(vinyl imidazole)] Microgels for Controlled Lipase Release JF - Macromolecular rapid communications N2 - Triggering the release of cargo from a polymer network by ultrasonication as an external, non-invasive stimulus can be an interesting concept for on-demand release. Here, it is shown that, in pH-and thermosensitive microgels, the ultrasound sensitivity of the polymer network depends on the external conditions. Crosslinked poly[(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-(vinyl imidazole)] microgels showed a volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) of 25-50 degrees C, which increases with decreasing pH. Above the VPTT the polymer chains are collapsed, while below VPTT they are extended. Only in the case of maximum observed swelling, where the polymer chains are expanded, the microgels are mechanically fragmented through ultrasonication. In contrast, when the polymer chains are partially collapsed it is not possible to manipulate the microgels by ultrasound. Additionally, the ultrasound-induced on-demand release of wheat germ lipase from the microgels could be demonstrated successfully. The principle of conditional ultrasound sensitivity is likely to be general and can be used for selection of matrix-cargo combinations. KW - ultrasound KW - polymers KW - microgels KW - lipase release KW - controlled release KW - thermoresponsive polymers KW - biomaterials Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.201500311 SN - 1022-1336 SN - 1521-3927 VL - 36 IS - 21 SP - 1891 EP - 1896 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weis, Philipp A1 - Hess, Andreas A1 - Kircher, Gunnar A1 - Huang, Shilin A1 - Auernhammer, Günter K. A1 - Koynov, Kaloian A1 - Butt, Hans-Jürgen A1 - Wu, Si T1 - Effects of Spacers on Photoinduced Reversible Solid-to-Liquid Transitions of Azobenzene-Containing Polymers JF - Chemistry - a European journal N2 - Photoisomerization in some azobenzene-containing polymers (azopolymers) results in reversible solid-to-liquid transitions because trans- and cis-azopolymers have different glass transition temperatures. This property enables photoinduced healing and processing of azopolymers with high spatiotemporal resolution. However, a general lack of knowledge about the influence of the polymer structure on photoinduced reversible solid-to-liquid transitions hinders the design of such novel polymers. Herein, the synthesis and photoresponsive behavior of new azopolymers with different lengths of spacers between the polymer backbone and the azobenzene group on the side chain are reported. Azopolymers with no and 20 methylene spacers did not show photoinduced solid-to-liquid transitions. Azopolymers with 6 or 12 methylene spacers showed photoinduced solid-to-liquid transitions. This study demonstrates that spacers are essential for azopolymers with photoinduced reversible solid-to-liquid transitions, and thus, gives an insight into how to design azopolymers for photoinduced healing and processing. KW - azobenzenes KW - isomerization KW - photochemistry KW - polymers KW - self-healing Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201902273 SN - 0947-6539 SN - 1521-3765 VL - 25 IS - 46 SP - 10946 EP - 10953 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER -