Read the full article here: Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 60, (2021) by I. Maity, C. Sharma, F. Lossada and A. Walther Compartmentalized reaction networks regulatingsignal processing, communication and pattern formation arecentral to living systems. Towards achieving life-like materials,we compartmentalized urea-urease and more complex urea-urease/ester-esterase pH-feedback reaction networks into hy-drogel spheres and investigate how fuel-driven pH fronts canbe sent out from these sp

Read the full article here: Nat Commun 12, 5132 (2021) by J. Deng and A. Walther Concatenation and communication between chemically distinct chemical reaction networks (CRNs) is an essential principle in biology for controlling dynamics of hierarchical structures. Here, to provide a model system for such biological systems, we demonstrate autonomous lifecycles of DNA nanotubes (DNTs) by two concatenated CRNs using different thermodynamic principles: (1) ATP-powered ligat

Read the full article here: Macromolecules 54 (2021) by C. Oluwadunsin Akintayo, G. Creusen, P. Straub and A. Walther The use of DNA as a building block in synthetic polymer hydrogels promises high levels of programmability regarding sol/gel temperatures, tunable bond lifetimes, biocompatibility, and interaction with biological components (e.g., enzymes, cells, and growth factors). However, scalability and quantitative structure–property relationships for large-scale ma

Read the full article here: Nat Commun 12, 1312 (2021) by D. Jiao, F. Lossada, J. Guo, O. Skarsetz, D. Hoenders, J. Liu and A. Walther Nature fascinates with living organisms showing mechanically adaptive behavior. In contrast to gels or elastomers, it is profoundly challenging to switch mechanical properties in stiff bioinspired nanocomposites as they contain high fractions of immobile reinforcements. Here, we introduce facile electrical switching to the field of bioins

Read the full article here: Small, 17, 2005668 (2021) by: S. Loescher and A. Walther Multivalent interaction is an important principle for self‐assembly and has been widely used to assemble colloids. However, surface binding partners are statistically distributed, which falls short of the interaction possibilities arising from geometrically controlled multivalency patterns as seen in viruses. Herein, the precision provided by 3D DNA origami is exploited to introduce mult

Read the full article here: Adv. Mater. 2102184 (2021) by J. L. Pelloth, P. A. Tran, A. Walther, A. S. Goldmann, H. Frisch, V. X. Truong and C. Barner-Kowollik Photoresponsive hydrogels hold key potential in advanced biomedical applications including tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and drug delivery, as well as intricately engineered functions such as biosensing, soft robotics, and bioelectronics. Herein, the wavelength-dependent degradation of bio-orthogonal poly(

Read the full article here: Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 10.1002/anie.202110327 (2021) by P. Lohner, M. Zmyslia, J. Thurn, J. K. Pape, R. Gerasimaite, J. Keller-Findeisen, S. Groeer, B. Deuringer, R. Süss, A. Walther, S. W. Hell, G. Lukinavicius, T. Hugel, and C. Jessen-Trefzer Compartmentalization of chemical reactions inside cellsare a fundamental requirement for life. Encapsulins are self-assembling protein-based nanocompartments from the prokaryotic repertoire th

Read the book here: Wiley-VCH GmbH (2021) by N. Guiseppone and A. Walther Feedback plays a vital role in the self-regulation of processes that govern biological structure and function such as the switches, rhythms, and synchronized states that are observed in cells. Thus, inspired by the wealth of behavior obtained in biology, chemists are designing novel feedback loops in chemical reaction networks for applications in sensors and structured or responsive materials. Here

Read the full article here: Polymers, 13, 1663 (2021) by: A. Kamdem Tamo, I. Doench, L. Walter, A. Montembault, G. Sudre, L. David, A. Morales-Helguera, M. Selig, B. Rolauffs, A. Bernstein, D. Hoenders, A. Walther, A. Osorio-Madrazo Soft tissues are commonly fiber-reinforced hydrogel composite structures, distinguishable from hard tissues by their low mineral and high water content. In this work, we proposed the development of 3D printed hydrogel constructs of the biopo