Smart hydrogels with responsive behaviors have attracted tremendous attention. However, it is still a challenge to synthesize stretchable hydrogels capable of changing their original properties in response to multiple external stimuli. Here, integration of actuation function, shape memory, and self‐healing capability in a highly stretchable hydrogel under triple external triggers is achieved by rationally engineering multiple functional moieties. The hydrogel exhibits high stretchability (average relative strain (mm/mm) is >15) and excellent fatigue resistance during 100 loading cycles of 100% strain. Incorporating a moisture‐insensitive polymer film with the hydrogel, hydroactuated functionality is demonstrated. Moreover, shape memory and self‐healing abilities of the hydrogel are realized by the formation of ionic crosslinking or dynamic borate ester in conditions of multivalent cations and pH, respectively. Deformable plastic flowers are displayed in this work as a proof‐of‐concept, and it is believed that this smart hydrogel could be used in plenty of frontier fields, such as designing electronic devices, soft robotics, and actuators.
Nanozymes are nanomaterials with enzyme-mimicking catalytic activity. Compared to natural enzymes, nanozymes show various properties such as easy to manufacture, stable, adjustable, and inexpensive. Nanozymes play key roles in biosensing, biocatalysis, and disease treatment. As an important kind of nanozymes, metal-organic framework (MOF)-based nanozymes are receiving a lot of attention due to their structural properties and composition. Rationally developing MOF with enzymes-like catalytic properties has opened new perspectives in biosensing. This review summarizes the up-to-date developments in synthesizing two-dimensional and three-dimensional MOF-based nanozymes and their applications in biosensing. Firstly, classification of nanozymes obtained by MOFs is categorized, and different properties of MOF-based nanozymes are described. Then, the distinctive applications of MOF-based nanozymes in identifying various analytes are thoroughly summarized. Finally, the recent challenges and progressive directions in this area are highlighted.
1 August 2019 in TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry