Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University , Shanghai 200241, P. R. China.
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, Department of Physics, East China Normal University , Shanghai 200062, P. R. China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 Jul 26;9(29):24511-24517. doi: 10.1021/acsami.7b07204. Epub 2017 Jul 14.
The development of light-responsive hydrogels that exhibit switchable size and mechanical properties with temporal and spatial resolution is of great importance in many fields. However, it remains challenging to prepare smart hydrogels that dramatically change their properties in response to both ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (NIR) lights. Here, we designed a dual-light responsive supramolecular gel by integrating UV light-switchable host-guest recognition, temperature responsiveness, and NIR photothermal ability in the gel. The gel could rapidly self-heal and is capable of both softening and stiffening controlled by UV and NIR lights, respectively. Besides stiffness modulation, the bending direction of the gel can be controlled by UV or NIR light irradiation. The smart gel makes it possible to generate dynamic materials that respond to both UV and NIR lights and represents a useful tool that might be used to modulate cellular microenvironments with spatiotemporal resolution.
具有时间和空间分辨率的光响应水凝胶的发展对于许多领域都非常重要，它可以表现出可切换的尺寸和机械性能。然而，制备能够对紫外（UV）光和近红外（NIR）光同时产生显著响应的智能水凝胶仍然具有挑战性。在这里，我们设计了一种双重光响应的超分子凝胶，将 UV 光开关主体-客体识别、温度响应性和 NIR 光热能力集成到凝胶中。该凝胶可以快速自修复，并可以分别通过 UV 和 NIR 光控制其软化和硬化。除了调节硬度外，凝胶的弯曲方向也可以通过 UV 或 NIR 光照射来控制。这种智能凝胶使得生成对 UV 和 NIR 光都有响应的动态材料成为可能，它是一种有用的工具，可以用于在时空分辨率上调节细胞微环境。
