the emergence of bionics. Although it has only been around for ≈60 years, bionics has undeniably spread to and revolutionized almost every aspect of human life. Special wettability, one of the most common phenomena in nature, was described as early as in 1805 with Young's equation. [1] However, it was not until 1976 that the term "superhydrophobicity" was first introduced to describe the particle coating of hydrophobic fumed silicon dioxide, on which water droplets remained spherical and the adhesion force was negligible. Later, in 1997, Barthlott [2] and Neinhuis [3] reported the "lotus effect" and revealed the origin of the self-cleaning property of lotus leaves: the presence of papillae on the microstructure and epicuticular wax. Subsequently, Jiang et al. further deciphered that the nanostructures on the top of the micropapillae impart superhydrophobicity to the surface of lotus leaves. [4] At the same time, it was discovered that many other naturally occurring phenomena are due to the superhydrophobicity of materials, [5] such as the high and directional adhesion of gecko foot, the structural color of butterfly wings, the anisotropic wetting of rice leaves, the low fluid friction of water strider legs, the antifogging and anti-reflection of mosquito compound eyes, the high adhesion of red rose petals, the low adhesion of cicada wings, the high reflection of poplar leaves, and the water capture of Stenocara beetles, etc. To date, great efforts have been made to establish theoretical models to understand superhydrophobic phenomena, develop advanced strategies and techniques to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces, and exploit the versatile properties and functions of superhydrophobic materials. [6] However, it is still a great challenge to translate superhydrophobic phenomena in nature into practical applications by mimicry. Fortunately, after thorough investigations, researchers have found that sufficient roughness and suitable surface energy are the two indispensable determinants to impart superhydrophobicity to synthetic materials. [7] Applications of superhydrophobic materials in transportation, architecture/building protection, oil/water separation, and seawater desalination to biomedical device fabrication, biosensing, energy conversion and utilization, and textile manufacturing, have been studied extensively over the past decade (Figure 1). [8] An analytical report published by Mordor Inspired by the lotus leaf in nature, superhydrophobic materials have attracted considerable attention in both science and industry over the past three decades. Apart from the most characteristic yet widely used properties such as waterproofing, anti-fouling, and self-cleaning, superhydrophobic materials have also developed exciting new functions such as drag reduction, corrosion resistance, anti-icing, anti-bacteria, and anti-reflection. In this review article, the theoretical models describing superhydrophobic surfaces are first briefly introduced. Then, the most common substrates and strategies for fabricating super...
Multifunctional hyperbranched poly(poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate) (HB-PEGDA) polymers with welldefined composition, structure and functionality are proposed in this work as photonic hydrogel scaffolds. By taking advantage of its unique transparency, low intrinsic viscosity and high amount of vinyl groups, the HB-PEGDA can effectively penetrate inside the colloidal photonic crystal (CPC) substrate and be crosslinked with thiolated hyaluronic acid very quickly. This photonic hydrogel shows not only an unexpected protective effect to the untreated CPC substrate, but also non-swelling characteristics attributed to its relatively compacted network structure, which leads to robust structural integrity and credible, consistent optical performance under complex physiological conditions. Moreover, this photonic hydrogel shows good biocompatibility and can be easily modified to introduce specific functions (e.g., cell attachment), providing novel insights into the photonic hydrogel design towards diverse bio-optical applications.
Topological structure plays a critical role in gene delivery of cationic polymers. Cyclic poly(ß-amino ester)s (CPAEs) are successfully synthesized via sequential Michael addition and free radical initiating ring-closure reaction. CPAE...
Proteins have tremendous potential for vaccine development and disease treatment, but multiple extracellular and intracellular biological barriers must be overcome before they can exert specific biological functions in the target tissue. The use of polymers as carriers would greatly improve their bioavailability and therapeutic efficiency. Nevertheless, effective protein packaging and cell membrane penetration without causing cytotoxicity is particularly challenging, due largely to the simultaneous distribution of positive and negative charges on protein surface. Here, phosphocholine-functionalized zwitterionic poly(β-amino ester)s, HPAE-D-(±), are developed for cytoplasmic protein delivery. The zwitterionic phosphocholine is capable of binding to both proteins and the cell membrane to facilitate protein packaging and nanoparticle cellular uptake. Compared to amine-functionalized HPAE-E-(+) and carboxylic acid-functionalized HPAE-C-(−), HPAE-D-(±) exhibits much higher cytoplasmic protein delivery efficiency and lower cytotoxicity. In addition, HPAE-D-(±) are readily degraded in aqueous solution. This strategy may be extended to other zwitterions and polymers, thus having profound implications for the development of safe and efficient protein delivery systems
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