Dual Responsive Hydrogels with Structural Changes Controlled by Intermolecular Interactions Induced by External Fields During Synthesis

This invention is a means of producing polymer hydrogels whose morphological and structural properites can be manipulated by external fields such as light electricity, and magnetism depending upon whether induced ordering of molecular interactions is perfromed during synthesis. Preferred materials are PNIPAM or other polymer of the class know as hydrogels. The external field active molecule are preferrably of the photoactive, electroactive, or magnetoactive family of molecules described in various leteratures whereby the moldecule can also form regular arrays in the presence of an external field.In simplist terms, hydrogel nanoparticles can be made to shrink under UV irradiation or grow depending upon the manner in which they are synthesized. This leads to a simple and convenient way to either use this functionality individually or to combine both types within a device.