Muqing Cao, Yizheng Tan*, Huaping Xu* ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2026, 18, 19, 27128 Shape morphing materials possess an enhanced adaptability to diverse environments while minimizing material usage and energy consumption. The main challenge in this area lies in applying the driving force and stimuli in a rapid, precise, and cost-effective manner to enhance the efficiency of mass production with more variety, lower cost, and better sustainability. This perspective summarizes methods and strategies developed recently for polymer shape morphing via dynamic chemistries, from the traditional m...

Chaowei He, Wenjie Zhang, Ruihao Zhou, Zeyu Lu, Zhigang Shuai, Huaping Xu*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.; 2026: e7355159. Dynamic covalent chemistry has enabled adaptive behavior in organic polymer networks and molecular crystals, yet analogous control in inorganic crystalline solids remains largely unexplored. Here we show that elemental selenium can operate as a dynamic covalent inorganic crystal, whose architectural and functional adaptability arises from dynamic covalent Se─Se bonds within the trigonal selenium backbone. External mechanical (or optical) stimuli drive Se─Se bond cleavage and ref...

Wei Chen, Hanjie Zhu, Yue Zhang, Yuqing Qiao, Ruotong Deng, Huaping Xu*, Wei Cao* Advanced Science 2026: e00010. Radioprotection remains a critical challenge in biomedicine and space exploration. As the fundamental building blocks of organisms, amino acids are gaining momentum in chemical design for in vivo radioprotection, yet their low atomic number (Z) and rapid metabolism restrict practical applications. This study addresses these limitations through the melanin-inspired polymerization of the higher Z-tellurocysteine. Motivated by the superior catalytic activity and higher Z of tellurium...

Yuanbo Zhang, Feiyang Li, Jia Tian, Shenghan Zhang, Muqing Cao, Ruihao Zhou, Lu Wang, PengFei Cao, Huaping Xu*. Nat Commun 2026 Silicone materials are indispensable across industrial and consumer domains, yet their robust Si–O–Si backbones resist depolymerization and typically require chemical crosslinking to attain elastomeric properties. Here we report a modular synthesis to access non-carbon heteroatomic backbone polymers (PTeSiO) featuring periodic Si–O–Te–O linkages. This copolymerization merges Si–O and Te–O as building blocks, enabling a one-pot, room-temperature aqueous route to high...

Yang Fu, Xiaoqiang Bai, Zhuoxin Ge, Zhuqing Wan, Mo Zhai, Mingchu Zhao, Dongdong Huang, Xiaodong Guo, Qian Ding, Huaping Xu*, Yongsheng Zhou*, Longwei Lv*. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2026: e74749. Early burst ion release of biodegradable alloys, such as Zn2+, often triggers inflammation and impairs bone formation, which affects the clinical application of biodegradable alloys. Here, a multifunctional hydrophilic selenium-containing polyurea (SePUA) is designed with a tunable ratio of selenium-containing groups to hydrophilic groups. The SePUA can form stable Se-metal coordination, achieving controll...

Ruiyang Wen,  Chenglin Zhang,  Chaozheng Miao,  Wanting Huang,  Rui Quan,  Ruohan Huang,  Han Wu,  Zehuan Huang*,  Yizheng Tan*,  Huaping Xu* Adv.  Mater.; 2026: e23642. The construction and integration of curvature govern the structure and function of materials based on 2D sheets, yet achieving ultrafast and scalable curvature programming remains a major challenge. We rapidly generate large stress mismatches by combining an ultrafast stress-relaxing diselenide-containing polyurethane with an ultraslow stress-relaxing disulfide-containing polyurethane. Coupled with modular components and com...

Banruo Xianyu, Zeyu Lu, Huaping Xu*, Tianyu Li* Biomaterials, 2026: p. 124099. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) have emerged as a promising immunotherapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the indiscriminate cytotoxicity of chemotherapies and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment paradoxically impede this potential. To overcome these limitations, we engineered β-selenoester–crosslinked nanocapsules delivering Gefitinib, designed to induce opposite cell fates in cancer cells and macrophages. In cancer cells, the Se-C bond in β-selenoester is ultrasensitive un...

Tiantian Yang, Huaping Xu*. Acta Polymerica Sinica, 2025, 56, 2302. Intelligent adaptive materials constitute a vital component of modern advanced material systems. Compared to other stimuli such as temperature and pH, light exhibit advantageous characters including cleanliness, renewability, and high spatiotemporal resolution. As a result, light-responsive intelligent adaptive materials have witnessed significant development in recent years, both in fundamental research and technological applications. They are now widely applied in frontier fields such as manufacturing, optoelectronics, and...

Qiliang Yin. Jingjing Li, Jianhua Zhang, Jiyan Leng, Kexin Zhang, Xihui Gao, Fan Wang*, Qi Yue*, Chao Ma*, Huaping Xu, Xiaogang Liu, Hongjie Zhang, Kai Liu* Nano Letters, 2025. 25(36): p. 13629-13638. Despite advances in immunotherapy, its efficacy against postoperative glioma recurrence remains limited. Here, we present a neoantigen-targeting peptide nanoshield that synergizes with glioma resection to eliminate residual tumor cells and prevent relapse. The nanoshield architecture is constructed using a multicationic protein (MCP) as the structural scaffold, which is assembled with the mutat...

Mo Zhai, Banruo Xianyu, Honglin Zhang, Xiaoqiang Bai, Yang Fu, Zhuqing Wan, Wenke Zhang, Huaping Xu*, Yongsheng Zhou*, Longwei Lv*  Adv. Funct. Mater. 2026: e14534. Titanium implants, although widely used in clinical applications, are still facing challenges of inflammation and compromised osseointegration, especially in diabetic and osteoporotic patients. Existing titanium modification techniques are confronted with problems of complicated manufacturing processes, poor bonding strength, and difficulties in dual regulation of immunity and osteogenesis. Here, a selenium-containing polyurethan...