Intelligent nanosystems with a programmed response to external stimuli
Abstract
In the last few years there has been an increasing interest in creating intelligent nanosystems that respond to external stimuli, aiming at mimicking the behavior of living organisms. In order to reach this level of autonomy and adaptive behavior, complex materials with highly controlled and localized functionality offer enormous potential to exploit novel properties. Current efforts are directed to produce nanosystems presenting functional domains made up from well-defined functional nanobuilding blocks (NBB), such as nanospecies, molecular functions, biomolecules, polymers, nanopores, etc. In an integrated nanosystem, the different functional domains can intercommunicate to obtain an emergent behavior derived from both the local structure, the mesoscale architecture and the NBB spatial location. In the last years, this field has advanced at an accelerated pace, mainly aiming at biological-clinical applications, in which major knowledge gaps include the need for new tools and strategies to spatially control the location of functions along the nanosystems at different hierarchical levels as well as developing novel methods to understand and control the dynamics, morphology, and spatiotemporal behavior of the interactions between the components that form them (i.e., structural components and loaded molecules, polymers or nanospecies). In this context, developing techniques to create regions that can be excited with an external stimulus, and transmit a signal for a specific response is a relevant advance on the way to generating programmable animated matter . Communication between the functional domains that compose the nanosystem is essential in order to structurally encode the responses (i.e., changes in shape, philicity, permeability, chemical activity, electron transfer), to different external stimuli (light, pH, electric or magnetic fields, temperature, redox potential, ionic strength, presence of molecules or biomolecules, etc.). The creation of these adaptable materials, as well as their rational design based in combining experimental work and modeling has great potential in a variety of fields such as separation, catalysis, theranostics, remote actuation, soft robotics, sensing or energy generation. Our group has recently demonstrated that nanosystems that combine inorganic, organic or biological NBB located at well-defined positions can present a tunable macroscopic response to a given stimulus. For example, polyelectrolytes within mesopores lead to perm-selective electrodes that can be activated by environment or light. A more complex behavior is achieved when a thermoresponsive polymer layer (PNIPA) is located on top of a mesoporous thin film; its combined temperature-triggered response with charged mesopores leads to a permselective ion gate responsive to temperature and charge that behaves as an AND logical gate. In addition, we have demonstrated that core-shell-brush nanoparticles can change their size and polarity subject to illumination through a thermoplasmonic-mechanical crossed effect. In addition, in collaboration with research groups dedicated to theory and modeling, we have contributed to create models that can explain or even predict complex processes that take place at molecular and mesoscopic levels at hybrid interfaces and in mesopores. Our previous research has positioned our laboratory as an internationally competitive group in producing hybrid organic-inorganic matter with programmable behavior. While these responsive hybrid organic-inorganic nanosystems have been increasingly studied in the last few years, there is still a gap of enabling knowledge. The project aims at designing nanosystems able to carry on actions upon external solicitation through a pre-programmed architecture at different levels.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 06, 2025
- Source ID
- FA95502410209
Entities
People
- Galo Soler-illia
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force