STEM Gels by Controlled Radical Polymerization

Structurally tailored and engineered macromolecular (STEM) gels are an addition to the field of advanced polymeric materials and additive/subtractive molecular manufacturing. Taking inspiration from nature, STEM gels were designed based on stem cells, which involved a two-step synthetic procedure. In the first step, the STEM gels are synthesized to be ‘undifferentiated' templates containing latent active sites. In the second step, STEM gels can be modified to introduce properties that were distinct from the original material. The primary focus has been on postsynthesis polymeric modifications by grafting from the active sites. For this reason, controlled radical polymerization techniques have been employed to more precisely tailor and tune STEM gels. Moreover, spatiotemporal control has been achieved using photo-induced polymerizations.