Wei Cao, Lu Wang and Huaping Xu Nano Today, 2015, 10, 717-736. Selenium/tellurium containing polymers have been attracting growing interest due to their unique properties and potential applications as bio-nanomaterials. The introduction of selenium or tellurium chemistry into block copolymers endows self-assembled nanomaterials with novel stimuli responsiveness and enhanced sensitivity. This review article provides an overview on recent advances of selenium/tellurium containing polymers. We summarize the redox response and reversible self-assembly behaviors, γ-ray responsive systems for ...

Tianyu Li, Mario Smet, Wim Dehaen, and Huaping Xu ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2016, 8, 3609-3614. Dendrimers are considered as good vectors for drug delivery in cancer treatment. However, most anticancer drugs are conjugated to the peripheral surface of dendrimers, sacrificing the advantages of monodispersity and stability belonging to dendrimers. Furthermore, dendrimers in current studies of cancer treatment are mostly used as vectors for drugs, whereas the anticancer activity of dendrimers on their own is less studied. Here we have prepared monodisperse selenium–platinum coordination ...

Shaobo Ji, Wei Cao, Ying Yu and Huaping Xu Adv. Mater., 2015, 27, 7740-7745. Visible light is an easily achievable and mild trigger for self-healing materials. By incorporating dynamic diselenide bonds into polyurethane, visible-light-induced self-healing materials can be fabricated. Besides mild visible light, the healing process can also be realized using directional laser irradiation, which makes the system a remotely controllable self-healing system.

Lu Wang, Fuqiang Fan, Wei Cao and Huaping Xu ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2015, 7, 16054-16060. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a crucial role in cell signaling and redox homeostasis and are strongly related to metabolic activities. The increase of ROS concentration in organisms can result in several diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The concentration of ROS in biologically-relevant conditions is typically as low as around tens of μM to 100 μM H2O2, which makes it necessary to develop ultra-sensitive ROS-responsive systems. A general approach is reported here to fa...

Wei Cao, Yuwei Gu, Tianyu Li and Huaping Xu Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 7069-7071. A novel tellurium-containing polymer micelle system is reported to be responsive to 100 μM H2O2 and can undergo a series of morphological changes. The polymer micelles also respond to 2 Gy gamma radiation, which is the exact dosage a patient receives one day for clinical radiation therapy.

Ruochen Fang, Huaping Xu, Wei Cao, Liulin Yang and Xi Zhang Polym. Chem., 2015, 6, 2817-2821. Materials responsive to reactive oxygen species (ROS) at a physiological level are of great significance in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. We have synthesized a water-soluble tellurium-containing hyperbranched polymer and demonstrated that it forms a kind of ROS-responsive aggregate. In aqueous environment, the polymer aggregates can swell under biologically relevant concentration of H2O2, which could be expected to find applications in fields such as elimination of excess ROS.

Wei Cao, Lu Wang and Huaping Xu Chem. Commun., 2015,  51, 5520-5522. A coordination-responsive tellurium containing film was fabricated for controlled release. The coordination chemistry between telluride molecules and cisplatin was utilized for the load of cisplatin, while competitive ligands for triggered release. This work could enrich the coordination responsive system and further tune the release kinetics of cisplatin.  

Jian Gao, Yiliu Liu, Huaping Xu, Zhiqiang Wang, and Xi Zhang Langmuir, 2009, 25, 4365-4369. In this letter, we present a very convenient and efficient technique of direct replication of biological structures via a two-step phase-separation micromolding process (PSμM). Our study has demonstrated that PSμM can be used to replicate the surface structure of a lotus leaf. On one hand, the micro/nanostructures of the lotus leaf are well replicated after a two-step PSμM. On the other hand, the replicated artificial lotus leaf shows good superhydrophobicity, similar to that of the natural lotus ...

Huaping Xu, Alberto Gomez-Casado, Zhihua Liu, David N. Reinhoudt, Rob G. H. Lammertink, and Jurriaan Huskens Langmuir, 2009, 25, 13972-13977. A polyelectrolyte multilayer was assembled on top of a patterned PDMS stamp employing the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. By post-treatment with a base and further cross-linking, a porous multilayer-coated PDMS composite stamp was obtained. With the pore structures acting as an ink reservoir, the multiple printing of proteins was successfully achieved without the need to re-ink the stamp.

Huaping Xu and Jurriaan Huskens Chem. Eur. J., 2010, 16, 2342-2348. Microcontact printing is a heavily used surface modification method in materials and life science applications. This concept article focuses on the development of versatile stamps for microcontact printing that can be used to bind and release inks through molecular recognition or through an ink reservoir, the latter being used for the transfer of heavy inks, such as biomolecules and particles. Conceptually, such stamp properties can be introduced at the stamp surface or by changing the bulk stamp material; both lines of ...