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Functional Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Materials for Optical and Biomedical Applications
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Functional Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Materials for Optical and Biomedical Applications

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomaterials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 September 2023) | Viewed by 5410

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Radu-Dan Rusu

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Electroactive Polymers and Plasmochemistry Laboratory, Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Romanian Academy, 700487 Iasi, Romania
Interests: linear and hyperbranched heteroaromatic macromolecular architectures; classic and/or Suzuki polycondensation; polymer processing (thin films and coatings); optical and electronic properties of polymers; application-driven polymeric materials for organic electronics and high-performance applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The smart use of organic chemistry concepts and tools unlocked a high level of mastery over the structure and features of polymeric architectures and enabled their exponential evolution up to performing increasingly complex stimuli-responsive (or smart) functional roles.

Originally designed to mimic nature’s selectively tailored assemblies and interfaces, smart polymers augmented our understanding of natural materials and are now able to tackle fundamental questions and address crucial societal challenges.

They progressed as key actors in a plethora of applications, spanning drug delivery, tissue engineering, biosensors, diagnostics, smart optical systems, microelectromechanical systems, membranes and textiles. Based on the convergence of polymer science, engineering, biology and medicine, some of these materials reached the maturity for commercialization, while many more build an enormous applicative potential. Finally, the stimuli-responsive concept promises materials which are able to ensure a desired shelf life firmness and function followed by on-demand degradation.

This Special Issue of Materials is dedicated to the field of smart polymeric materials and collects original, high-quality research covering state-of-the-art topics related to functional stimuli-responsive macromolecular architectures.

It is our pleasure to invite you to contribute full papers, communications, and reviews dealing with innovations, challenges, and perspectives concerning design, preparation, structure-property insights and applications of stimuli-responsive polymers and materials based on them, with an emphasis on optical and biomedical applications.

Dr. Radu-Dan Rusu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • smart materials
  • stimuli-responsive polymers
  • biomedical applications
  • optical applications
  • temperature-responsive polymers
  • pH-sensitive polymers
  • light-responsive polymers
  • mechanoresponsive polymers
  • self-immolative polymers
  • drug delivery
  • smart optical materials

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3788 KiB  
Article
Synthesis, Properties and Adsorption Kinetic Study of New Cross-Linked Composite Materials Based on Polyethylene Glycol Polyrotaxane and Polyisoprene/Semi-Rotaxane
by Ana-Maria Resmerita, Alexandra Bargan, Corneliu Cojocaru and Aurica Farcas
Materials 2023, 16(16), 5594; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16165594 - 12 Aug 2023
Viewed by 875
Abstract
New composite materials were prepared via cross-linking of polyethylene glycol/2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrins polyrotaxane (PEG/HPβCD) and polyisoprene/HPβCD semi-polyrotaxane (PI/HPβCD SR) with 1,6-hexamethylene diizocyanate (HMDI). Advanced instrumental methods (such WAXS (wide angle X-ray scattering), AFM (atomic force microscopy), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), and thermal and dynamic vapor [...] Read more.
New composite materials were prepared via cross-linking of polyethylene glycol/2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrins polyrotaxane (PEG/HPβCD) and polyisoprene/HPβCD semi-polyrotaxane (PI/HPβCD SR) with 1,6-hexamethylene diizocyanate (HMDI). Advanced instrumental methods (such WAXS (wide angle X-ray scattering), AFM (atomic force microscopy), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), and thermal and dynamic vapor sorption) were employed for the structural, morphological and thermal characterization of the resulting composite materials. The roughness parameters calculated using AFM indicate a smoother surface for the composite material with 10 wt% of PI/HPβCD SR, denoting that a homogeneous film was obtained. SEM analysis reveals porous morphologies for both composite materials and the pore sizes increase with the increasing concentration of PI/HPβCD SR in the matrix. Dynamic vapor sorption/desorption measurements and type IV isotherms confirmed the hydrophilic and porous materials, which are in agreement with SEM analysis. The composite with a higher PI/HPβCD SR concentration in the matrix showed increased thermal stability than that of the pure cross-linked material. This material was further tested as a sorbent for methylene blue (MB) dye removal from an aqueous solution. The adsorption capacity of the composite film was found to be 2.58 mg g−1 at 25 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Materials for Optical and Biomedical Applications)
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18 pages, 3784 KiB  
Article
Novel Insight into the Photophysical Properties and 2D Supramolecular Organization of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/Permodified Cyclodextrins Polyrotaxanes at the Air–Water Interface
by Alae El Haitami, Ana-Maria Resmerita, Laura Elena Ursu, Mihai Asandulesa, Sophie Cantin and Aurica Farcas
Materials 2023, 16(13), 4757; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16134757 - 30 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 862
Abstract
Two poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polyrotaxanes (PEDOT∙TMe-βCD and PEDOT∙TMe-γCD) end-capped by pyrene (Py) were synthesized by oxidative polymerization of EDOT encapsulated into TMe-βCD or TMe-γCD cavities with iron (III) chloride (FeCl3) in water and chemically characterized. The effect of TMe-βCD or TMe-γCD encapsulation of [...] Read more.
Two poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polyrotaxanes (PEDOT∙TMe-βCD and PEDOT∙TMe-γCD) end-capped by pyrene (Py) were synthesized by oxidative polymerization of EDOT encapsulated into TMe-βCD or TMe-γCD cavities with iron (III) chloride (FeCl3) in water and chemically characterized. The effect of TMe-βCD or TMe-γCD encapsulation of PEDOT backbones on the molecular weight, thermal stability, and solubility were investigated in depth. UV–vis absorption, fluorescence (FL), phosphorescence (PH), quantum efficiencies, and lifetimes in water and acetonitrile were also explored, together with their surface morphology and electrical properties. Furthermore, dynamic light scattering was used to study the hydrodynamic diameter (DH) and z-potential (ZP-ζ) of the water soluble fractions of PEDOT∙TMe-βCD and PEDOT∙TMe-γCD. PEDOT∙TMe-βCD and PEDOT∙TMe-γCD exhibited a sharp monodisperse peak with a DH of 55 ± 15 nm and 122 ± 32 nm, respectively. The ZP-ζ value decreased from −31.23 mV for PEDOT∙TMe-βCD to −20.38 mV for PEDOT∙TMe-γCD, indicating that a negatively charged layer covers their surfaces. Surface pressure–area isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) studies revealed the capability of the investigated compounds to organize into sizeable and homogeneous 2D supramolecular assemblies at the air–water interface. The control of the 2D monolayer organization through the thermodynamic parameters of PEDOT∙TMe-βCD and PEDOT∙TMe-γCD suggests potential for a wide range of optoelectronic applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Materials for Optical and Biomedical Applications)
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Review

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28 pages, 6300 KiB  
Review
Smart Supra- and Macro-Molecular Tools for Biomedical Applications
by Mariana Pinteala, Marc J. M. Abadie and Radu D. Rusu
Materials 2020, 13(15), 3343; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13153343 - 27 Jul 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2982
Abstract
Stimuli-responsive, “smart” polymeric materials used in the biomedical field function in a bio-mimicking manner by providing a non-linear response to triggers coming from a physiological microenvironment or other external source. They are built based on various chemical, physical, and biological tools that enable [...] Read more.
Stimuli-responsive, “smart” polymeric materials used in the biomedical field function in a bio-mimicking manner by providing a non-linear response to triggers coming from a physiological microenvironment or other external source. They are built based on various chemical, physical, and biological tools that enable pH and/or temperature-stimulated changes in structural or physicochemical attributes, like shape, volume, solubility, supramolecular arrangement, and others. This review touches on some particular developments on the topic of stimuli-sensitive molecular tools for biomedical applications. Design and mechanistic details are provided concerning the smart synthetic instruments that are employed to prepare supra- and macro-molecular architectures with specific responses to external stimuli. Five major themes are approached: (i) temperature- and pH-responsive systems for controlled drug delivery; (ii) glycodynameric hydrogels for drug delivery; (iii) polymeric non-viral vectors for gene delivery; (iv) metallic nanoconjugates for biomedical applications; and, (v) smart organic tools for biomedical imaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Materials for Optical and Biomedical Applications)
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