Biomimetic MXene membranes with negatively thermo-responsive switchable 2D nanochannels for graded molecular sieving

Negatively thermo-responsive 2D membranes,which mimic the stomatal opening/closing of plants,have drawn substantial interest for tunable molecular separation processes.However,these membranes are still restricted significantly on account of low water permeability and poor dynamic tunability of 2D nanochannels under temperature stimulation.Here,we present a biomimetic negatively thermo-responsive MXene membrane by covalently grafting poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAm)onto MXene nanosheets.The uniformly grafted PNIPAm polymer chains can enlarge the interlayer spacings for increasing water permeability while also allowing more tunability of 2D nanochannels for enhancing the capability of gradually separating multiple molecules of different sizes.As expected,the constructed membrane exhibits ultrahigh water permeance of 95.6 L m^(-2) h^(-1) bar^(-1) at 25℃,which is eight-fold higher than the state-of-the-art negatively thermoresponsive 2D membranes.Moreover,the highly temperature-tunable 2D nanochannels enable the constructed membrane to perform excellent graded molecular sieving for dye-and antibiotic-based ternary mixtures.This strategy provides new perspectives in engineering smart 2D membrane and expands the scope of temperature-responsive membranes,showing promising applications in micro/nanofluidics and molecular separation.

Preparation and Thermo-Responsive Properties of Poly(Oligo(Ethylene Glycol)Methacrylate)Copolymers with Hydroxy-Terminated Side Chain

Thermo-responsive random copolymers,poly(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxyethyl methacrylate-co-(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate)(P(EO_(2)-co-EO_(4/5)))and poly(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxyethyl methacrylate-co-ethylene glycol methacrylate(P(EO2-co-EG4/5))are synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization(ATRP).The successful synthesis and the narrow polydispersity index(PDI)of two copolymers are indicated by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance(1H-NMR)and gel permeation chromatography(GPC)analyses.The transition behaviors of polymers in the aqueous solution are demonstrated by changes in turbidity and particle sizes.The transition behavior of P(EO2-co-EG4/5)is found to be milder than that of P(EO2-co-EO4/5).Moreover,the presence of hydrogen bonds without thermo-responsive properties established by hydroxyl groups in the end-side chain of P(EO_(2)-co-EG_(4/5))hinders the dehydration at the transition temperature(TT).Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectrometry(ATR-FTIR)analysis along with contact angle measurements reveals that both P(EO_(2)-co-EO_(4/5))and P(EO_(2)-co-EG_(4/5))films undergo phase transitions from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity above TT.By examining the swelling and collapse behaviors of the polymer films during phase transitions,it can be concluded that the end hydroxyl groups may establish hydrogen bonds with neighboring ether groups within the films,which remain intact throughout the phase transition process due to their strong bonding interactions.This leads to an increase in steric hindrance within swollen films thereby impeding dehydration processes and inducing hysteresis during phase transitions.

Application of Monodisperse Thermo-Responsive Composite Microgels with Core-Shell Structure Based on Au@Ag Bimetallic Nanorod as Core in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Substrate

The monodisperse Au@Ag bimetallic nanorod is encapsulated by crosslinked poly( N-isopropylacrylamide)( PNIPAM) to produce thermo-responsive composite microgel with well-defined core-shell structure( Au@ Ag NR@ PNIPAM microgel)by seed-precipitation polymerization method using butenoic acid modified Au @ Ag NRs as seeds. When the temperature of the aqueous medium increases from 20℃ to 50℃,the localized surface plasmon resonance( LSPR) band of the entrapped Au @ Ag NR is pronouncedly red-shifted because of the decreased spatial distances between them as a result of shrinkage of the microgels,leading to their plasmonic coupling. The temperature tunable plasmonic coupling is demonstrated by temperature dependence of the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy( SERS) signal of 1-naphthol in aqueous solution. Different from static plasmonic coupling modes from nanostructured assembly or array system of noble metals,the proposed plasmonic coupling can be dynamically controlled by environmental temperature. Therefore, the thermo responsive hybrid microgels have potential applications in mobile LSPR or SERS microsensors for living tissues or cells.

Rheological properties of novel thermo-responsive polycarbonates aqueous solutions

Thermo-responsive multiblock polycarbonates were facilely synthesized by covalently binding poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG) and poly(propylene glycol)(PPG) blocks,using triphosgene as coupling agent and pyridine as catalyst.The aqueous solutions of thermo-responsive polycarbonates were investigated by rheological measurements.Steady-state shear measurements reveal that the polycarbonate solutions exhibit shear-thinning behavior and the hydrophilic content has a pronounced effect on the flow behavior of the polycarbonates aqueous solutions.The shear viscosity decreases with increasing poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO) composition.The increase of viscosity with increasing concentration is probably attributed to the formation of stronger network owing to interchain entanglement of PEO block at higher concentration.When the flow curves are fitted to the power law model,flow index is obtained to be less than 1,as exhibiting typical pesudoplastic fluid.The viscoelastic properties of the system also show close dependence on the composition of polycarbonates.Temperature sweep confirms that the multiblock polycarbonates exhibit thermo-responsive properties.For 7% aqueous solution of polycarbonate with composition ratio of EO to PO of 1/1,the sol-gel transition occurs at 37 ℃,which makes the system suitable as an injectable drug delivery system.

The Microstructure and Gelling Mechanism of Thermo-responsive Chitosan Hydrogel System

Thermo-respansive chitosan hydrogel system （TRCHS） was prepared and its mierostructure was investigated by scaning electron microscope （SEM） and mercury intrusion poremaster （MIP）. Based on analyzing the data, a special porosity property was reported at the first time. Its gelling mechanism was studied by a group of contrast experiments. Results may provide experimental and theoretical supports for how to apply it on tissue engineering scaffold and how to influeuee or control its essential properties.

Reshaping the imprinting strategy through the thermo-responsive moiety-derived“deep eutectic solvents”effect

As a new concept having emerged in last few years,the“deep eutectic solvents”(DESs)effect integrated into the imprinting technology inevitably exposes design limitations of stimuli-responsive molecularly imprinted polymers(MIPs),as well as inadequate analysis of the adsorption performance of MIPs.Herein,a simple yet defined N-isopropylacrylamide/(3-acrylamidopropyl)trimethylammonium chloride(NIPAM/APTMAC)binary DESs system was proposed to prepare intelligent MIPs with thermo-sensitivity.Accordingly,magnetic and thermo-responsive MIPs based on functional monomers-derived DESs(TMDESs-MIPs1)were synthesized,revealing DESs effect-regulated affinity/kinetics for the enhanced adsorption capability,eco-friendly thermo-regulated elution for high release efficiency,and simple magnetic separation,along with superior selectivity to rhein(RH)and good regeneration ability.TM-DESs-MIPs1 were utilized to extract RH from Cassiae semen samples coupled with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC),yielding satisfactory recoveries(79.47%−110.82%)and low limits of detection(LOD)(16.67μg/L).Another two kinds of MIPs adopting the thermo-responsive moiety-derived DESs effect strategy further demonstrated great applicability of such intelligent MIPs for analyses of complicated samples.

Injectable thermo-responsive nano-hydrogel loading triptolide for the anti-breast cancer enhancement via localized treatment based on “two strikes” effects

The clinical application of triptolide(TPL)in tumor therapy has been greatly limited by its toxicity and inefficient delivery.Herein,a localized and sustained-release thermo-sensitive hydrogel was developed for the intra-tumor administration of TPL.Based on the amphiphilic structure of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid)-g-F68 copolymer,it was able to form nano-micelles to efficiently encapsulate TPL,and then turn into a hydrogel at 37C.TPL@nano-gel exhibited a sustained drug release profile in vitro and a stronger anticancer effect caused by"two strikes".The"first strike"was its enhanced cytotoxicity compared to free TPL,due to the enhanced pro-apoptosis effect observed in both MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells caused by the regulation of endogenous mitochondrial pathways.Furthermore,TPL@nano-gel exhibited a"second-strike"through its anti-angiogenesis capabilities mediated through VEGFR-2 signaling inhibition.As expected,after intra-tumoral injection at a 0.45 mg/kg TPL-equivalent dose three times over 14 days in 4 T1 tumor-bearing mice,TPL@nano-gel led to lower systemic toxicity and higher antitumor efficacy compared to multiple injections of TPL.In this regard,these findings indicate that this injectable thermo-responsive hydrogel carries great potential for TPL as a safe and effective cancer therapy.

Controlled Self-assembly of Thermo-responsive Amphiphilic H-shaped Polymer for Adjustable Drug Release

Despite the fact that some progress has been made in the self-assembly of H-shaped polymers, the corresponding self-assemblies that respond to external stimulus and are further utilized to adjust the release of drugs are still deficient. The stimuli-responsive segments with amphiphilic H-shaped structure are generally expected to enhance the controllability of self-assembly process. The synthesis and self-assembly behavior of thermo-responsive amphiphilic H-shaped polymers with poly（ethylene glycol） （PEG）, polytetrahydrofuran （PTHF） and poly（N-isopropyl acrylamide） （PNIPAM） as building blocks are reported in this paper. The inner architecture structure and size of complex micelles formed by H-shaped self-assemblies were effectively adjusted when the solution temperature was increased above the lower critical solution temperature of PNIPAM segments. Furthermore, it was found that the architecture of self-assemblies underwent a transition from the complex micelles based on primary micelles with hybrid PEG/PNIPAM shells to large complex micelles based on primary micelles with hybrid PTHF/PNIPAM cores and PEG shells during the thermal-induced self-assembly process. The adjustable release rate ofdoxorubicin （DOX） from the DOX-loaded complex micelles and basic cell experiments further proved the feasibility of these self-assemblies as the thermal-responsive drug delivery system.

Thermo-responsive stick-slip behavior of advancing water contact angle on the surfaces of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-grafted polypropylene membranes

Wettability of a solid surface is highly important to its practical application,especially for the surface that shows thermoresponsive properties.In this paper,we describe a thermo-responsive stick-slip behavior of water droplets on the surfaces of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAM)-grafted polypropylene membranes.Field emission scanning electron microscope(FESEM) images elucidate that the morphology of PNIPAM-grafted membrane surface is thermo-responsive,i.e.,the surface becomes rougher above the lower critical solution temperature(LCST) of PNIPAM.On the surface of nascent polypropylene membranes,the water droplet shows a smooth motion resulting in advancing and receding water contact angles of 111° and ～65°,respectively.On the PNIPAM-grafted membrane surfaces,the water droplet shows a stick-slip pattern above the LCST,whereas it advances smoothly below the LCST.This phenomenon is reproducible and can be ascribed to the energy barriers enhanced by the shrink of PNIPAM chains above the LCST.We also find that the slip contact angle decreases from 102° to 92° after several stick-slip cycles.This decrease is attributed to the water adsorption on the grafted PNIPAM layer,which is confirmed by the continuous decrease of the receding water contact angle.

Interfacially stable MOF nanosheet membrane with tailored nanochannels for ultrafast and thermo-responsive nanofiltration

Two-dimensional nanosheet membranes with responsive nanochannels are appealing for controlled mass transfer/separation,but limited by everchanging thicknesses arising from unstable interfaces.Herein,an interfacially stable,thermo-responsive nanosheet membrane is assembled from twin-chain stabilized metal-organic framework(MOF)nanosheets,which function via two cyclic amide-bearing polymers,thermo-responsive poly(N-vinyl caprolactam)(PVCL)for adjusting channel size,and non-responsive polyvinylpyrrolidone for supporting constant interlayer distance.Owing to the microporosity of MOF nanosheets and controllable interface wettability,the hybrid membrane demonstrates both superior separation performance and stable thermo-responsiveness.Scattering and correlation spectroscopic analyses further corroborate the respective roles of the two polymers and reveal the microenvironment changes of nanochannels are motivated by the dehydration of PVCL chains.

Synthesis and Characterization of Butyl Acrylate-based Graft Polymers with Thermo-responsive Branching Sites via the Diels-Alder Reaction of Furan/Maleimide

Thermo-responsive butyl acrylate/furfuryl methacrylate copolymer-based （PBF backbone） graft （co）polymers with dynamic covalent linkages between their backbones and side chains via the Diels-Alder reaction of furardmaleimide were synthesized. Atom transfer radical polymerization （ATRP） was used to synthesize graft copolymers with thermo-responsive transformation from graft copolymers to linear polymers with bimodal or wide MWD. The NMR measurements indicated that the Diels-Alder reaction and retro- Diels-Alder reaction occurred, depending on the change of the temperature, meaning that the side chains could be cleaved and reformed according to the variation of the temperature. GPC measurements demonstrated that the molecular weights of the polymers were thermo- responsive. Furthermore, three graft copolymers with various branching chains （PBF-g-PBA, PBF-g-P（BMA-co-MA） and PBF-g-PBMA） were compared to study the influence of compatibility between the backbone and the branching chain on the efficiency of Diels-Alder reaction after the cleavage of the DA linkage. The results showed that the ability of the side chains to come back to the main chain was strongly affected by the compatibility between the backbone and the side chains and the flexibility of the polymer chains.

Thermo-responsive and Antifouling PVDF Nanocomposited Membranes Based on PNIPAAm Modified TiO_2 Nanoparticles

A novel hydrophilic nanocomposite additive （TiO2-g-PNIPAAm） was synthesized by the surface modification of titanium dioxide （TiO2） with N-isopropylacrylamide （NIPAAm） via ＂graft-from＂ technique. And the nanocomposite membrane of poly（vinylidene fluoride） （PVDF）/TiO2-g-PNIPAAm was fabricated by wet phase inversion. The graft degree was obtained by thermo-gravimetric analysis （TGA）. Fourier transform infrared attenuated reflection spectroscopy （FTIR-ATR） and X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy （XPS） characterization results suggested that TiO2-g-PNIPAAm nanoparticles segregated on membrane surface during the phase separation process. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） was conducted to investigate the surface and cross-section of the modified membranes. The water contact angle measurements confirmed that TiO2-g-PNIPAAm nanoparticles endowed PVDF membranes better hydrophlilicity and thermo-responsive properties compared with those of the pristine PVDF membrane. The water contact angle decreased from 92.8~ of the PVDF membrane to 61.2~ of the nanocompostie membrane. Bovine serum albumin （BSA） static and dynamic adsorption experiments suggested that excellent antifouling properties of membranes was acquired after adding TiO2-g- PNIPAAm. The maximum BSA adsorption at 40℃ was about 3 times than that at 23 ℃. The permeation experiments indicated the water flux recover ratio and BSA rejection ratio were improved at different temperatures.

Cyclophosphamide loaded thermo-responsive hydrogel system synergize with a hydrogel cancer vaccine to amplify cancer immunotherapy in a prime-boost manner

Although neoantigen-based cancer vaccines show great potential in cancer immunotherapy due to their ability to induce effective and long-lasting anti-tumor immunity,their development is hindered by the limitations of neoantigens identification,low immunogenicity,and weak immune response.Cyclophosphamide(CTX)not only directly kills tumors but also causes immunogenic cell death,providing a promising source of antigens for cancer vaccines.Herein,a combined immunotherapy strategy based on temperature-sensitive PLEL hydrogel is designed.First,CTX-loaded hydrogel is injected intratumorally into CT26 bearing mice to prime anti-tumor immunity,and then 3 days later,PLEL hydrogels loaded with CpG and tumor lysates are subcutaneously injected into both groins to further promote anti-tumor immune responses.The results confirm that this combined strategy reduces the toxicity of CTX,and produces the cytotoxic T lymphocyte response to effectively inhibit tumor growth,prolong survival,and significantly improve the tumor cure rate.Moreover,a long-lasting immune memory response is observed in the mice.About 90%of the cured mice survive for at least 60 days after being re-inoculated with tumors,and the distant tumor growth is also well inhibited.Hence,this PLEL-based combination therapy may provide a promising reference for the clinical promotion of chemotherapy combined with cancer vaccines.

THERMO-RESPONSIVE BLOCK COPOLYMERS BASED ON LINEAR-TYPE POLY(ETHYLENE GLYCOL):TUNABLE LCST WITHIN THE PHYSIOLOGICAL RANGE

Therrno-responsive block copolymers poly（ethylene glycol）-block-poly（N-acryloyl-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-oxazolidine）, PEG-b-PADMO, based on linear PEG were prepared via a versatile reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer （RAFT） polymerization, PEG22 （Mw = 1000） was used as the hydrophilic component, whose dehydration was the main driving force for the phase transition of these copolymers, as demonstrated by the tH-NMR spectra. Their lower critical solution temperatures （LCSTs） could be tuned in the range of 20℃ to 35℃, by adjusting the degree of polymerization （DP） of PADMO between 14-27. Furthermore, a sharp phase transition at ca. 33℃, close to the physiological temperature with minimal hysteresis, was observed for the PEGzz-b-PADMO14 copolymer. Moreover, excellent reversibility and reproducibility were displayed for the same copolymer over 10 cycles of repeated temperature change between 25℃ （below the LCST） and 40℃ （above the LCST）.

Hofmeister Effect on Thermo-responsive Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)Hydrogels Grafted on Macroporous Poly(vinyl alcohol) Formaldehyde Sponges

In this work,the Hofmeister effects of nine kinds of anions at different concentrations on the lower critical solution temperature(LCST)of the macroporous thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)grafted poly(vinyl alcohol)formaldehyde(PVF-g-PNIPAM)hydrogels are investigated with differential scanning calorimetry(DSC).Four kinds of anions with strong hydration,including CO3^2–,SO4^2–,S2 O3^2–,and F^–,and four kinds of anions with weak hydration,including Br^–,NO3^–,I^–,and ClO4^–,and Cl^–as a medium anion are systematically studied and found to demonstrate the effects of the residual hydroxyl groups and network structure of PVF on the LCST values of PVF-g-PNIPAM hydrogels in comparison with that of neat PNIPAM.On the one hand,the existence of hydroxyl groups on PVF backbone promotes the solubility of grafted PNIPAM due to their hydrophilicity and hydrogen-bond interactions with water.On the other hand,the network structure of as-prepared samples restricts free movements of grafted PNIPAM chains,which results in the increase of LCST values.In addition,the difference of grafting percentage also influences the variation of LCST values of PVF-g-PNIPAM hydrogels under salt concentration.

One-step synthesis and self-assembly behavior of thermo-responsive star-shaped β-cyclodextrin-（P（M EO2MA-co-PEGMA））21 copolymers

A novel β-cyclodextrin-poly（2-（2-methoxyethoxy）ethyl methacrylate）-co- poly（ethylene glycol） methacrylate （abbreviated as： β-CD-（P（MEO2MA-co-PEGMA））21） was prepared by using the one-step strategy, and then the star-shaped copolymers were used in the atom transfer radical polymerization （ATRP）. The structure of star-shaped β- CD-（P（MEO2MA-co-PEGMA））21 copolymers were studied by FTIR, 1H NMR and gel permeation chromatography （GPC）. The star-shaped copolymers could self-assembled into micelles in aqueous solution owing to the outer amphiphilic β-CD as a core and the hydrophilic P（MEO2MA-co-PEGMA） segments as a shell. These thermo-responsive starshaped copolymers micelles exhibited lower critical solution temperature （LCST） in water, which could be finely tuned by changing the feed ratio of MEO2MA to PEGMA. The LCST of star-shaped β-CD-（P（MEO2MA-co-PEGMA））21 copolymer micelles were increased from 35℃ to 58℃ with the increasing content of PEGMA. The results were investigated by DLS and TEM. When the temperature was higher than corresponding LCSTs, the micelles started to associate and form spherical nanoparticles. Therefore, β- CD-（P（MEO2MA-co-PEGMA））21 star-shaped copolymer micelles could be potentially applied in nano-carrier, nano-reactor, smart materials and biomedical fields.

The Doubly Thermo-responsive Triblock Copolymer Nanoparticles Prepared through Seeded RAFT Polymerization

The doubly thermo-responsive triblock copolymer nanoparticles of polystyrene-block-poly（N- isopropylacrylamide）-block-poly[N,N-（dimethylamino） ethyl methacrylate] （PS-b-PNIPAM-b-PDMAEMA） are successfully prepared through the seeded RAFT polymerization in situ by using the PS-b-PNIPAM-TTC diblock copolymer nanoparticles as the seed. The seeded RAFT polymerization undergoes a pseudo-first-order kinetics procedure, and the molecular weight increases with the monomer conversion linearly. The hydrodynamic diameter （Dh） of the triblock copolymer nanoparticles increases with the extension of the PDMAEMA block. In addition, the double thermo-response behavior of the PS-b-PNIPAM-b-PDMAEMA nanoparticles is detected by turbidity analysis, temperature-dependent 1H-NMR analysis, and DLS analysis. The seeded RAFT polymerization is believed as a valid method to prepare triblock copolymer nanoparticles containing two thermo-responsive blocks.

Thermo-responsive imprinted hydrogel with switchable sialic acid recognition for selective cancer cell isolation from blood

In this work,a sialic acid(SA)-imprinted thermo-responsive hydrogel layer was prepared for selective capture and release of cancer cells.The SA-imprinting process was performed at 37℃ using thermo-responsive functional monomer,thus generating switchable SA-recognition sites with potent SA binding at 37℃and weak binding at a lower temperature(e.g.,25℃).Since SA is often overexpressed at the glycan terminals of cell membrane proteins or lipids,the SA-imprinted hydrogel layer could be used for selective cancer cell recognition.Our results confirmed that the hydrogel layer could efficiently capture cancer cells from not only the culture medium but also the real blood samples.In addition,the captured cells could be non-invasively released by lowing the temperature.Considering the non-invasive processing mode,considerable capture efficiency,good cell selectivity,as well as the more stable and durable SA-imprinted sites compared to natural antibodies or receptors,this thermo-responsive hydrogel layer could be used as a promising and general platform for cell-based cancer diagnosis.

Thermo-responsive cellulose papers grafted with poly(di(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate)

Novel thermo-responsive cellulose papers were prepared via grafting poly(di(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate)(PDEGMA)by activators regenerating electron transfer(ARGET)and atom transfer radical polymerization(ATRP).Attenuated total refraction Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(ATR-FTIR)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)measurements of the modified paper showed that PDEGMA brushes were successfully grafted on the paper surface.The thermal stability of the papers before and after grafting was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis(TGA).The PDEGMA-grafted paper exhibited a two-step thermal degradation process,and presented thermo-responsive characteristics.It was hydrophilic at room temperature but changed rapidly to highly hydrophobic when the temperature rose above 50℃.

Studies on LCST of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid-co-N-diacetone acrylamide)

Linear copolymers from N-isopropylacrylamide （NIPA）, acrylic acid （AA） and diacetone acrylamide （DAA） have been prepared. The effect of composition, ionic strength and pH on their lower critical solution temperature （LCST） has been investigated.