MIT engineers and colleagues from the University of California are reporting a unique design of a “smart surface” using monomolecular layers that can reversibly switch properties in response to an external stimulus. The work paves the way for systems that could, for example, release or absorb cells and chemicals from surfaces on demand.

“This opens the door to a variety of applications, including novel drug-delivery systems and smart templates for the bioseparation of one molecule from another,” said Robert Langer, MIT’s Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and leader of the work.

MIT press release