Thermo-Switchable Materials Prepared Using the OEGMA-Platform

We describe here the advantages of oligo(ethylene glycol)-based (co)polymers for preparing thermoresponsive materials as diverse as polymer-enzyme bio-hybrids, injectable hydrogels, capsules for drug-release, modified magnetic particles for in vivo utilization, cell-culture substrates, antibacterial surfaces, or stationary phases for bioseparation. Oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates (OEGMAs) can be (co)polymerized using versatile and widely-applicable methods of polymerization such as atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Thus, the molecular structure and therefore the stimuli-responsive properties of these polymers can be precisely controlled. Moreover, these stimuli-responsive macromolecules can be easily attached to or directly grown from organic, inorganic or biological materials. As a consequence, the OEGMA synthetic platform is today a popular option for materials design. The present research news summaries the progress of the last two years.