Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699-5810, USA.
Adv Mater. 2010 Aug 17;22(31):3446-62. doi: 10.1002/adma.201000165.
A continuously growing area of controlled and tunable transport and separation of biomolecules and drugs has recently attracted attention to the structures which can be referred to as stimuli-responsive porous hydrogel thin films. Because of spatial constraints, swelling/shrinking of the hydrogel films results in closing/opening (or vice versa) of the film's pores. Such responsive systems can be used in the configuration of plane films or capsules. The combination of a low thickness (translating into a low hydrodynamic flow resistance and rapid response) with well-defined size and shape of pores (translating into better control of transport and separation), which can be closed, opened, or tuned by an external signal (allowing a large amplitude of changes in diffusivity of solutes in the thin film and a precise control of the pore size), makes these materials very attractive for a range of applications, such as molecular filtration, separation, drug delivery, sensors, and actuators.
近年来，人们对能够控制和调节生物分子和药物传输和分离的结构越来越关注，其中包括可以被称为刺激响应型多孔水凝胶薄膜的结构。由于空间限制，水凝胶薄膜的溶胀/收缩会导致薄膜孔的关闭/打开（或反之亦然）。这种响应系统可用于平面薄膜或胶囊的配置。低厚度（转化为低流体流动阻力和快速响应）与孔的尺寸和形状的良好定义（转化为更好的传输和分离控制）相结合，可以通过外部信号进行关闭、打开或调谐（允许在薄膜中溶质扩散率发生大的变化幅度，并能够精确控制孔径），使得这些材料在一系列应用中非常有吸引力，例如分子过滤、分离、药物输送、传感器和执行器。
