Our review article, written by Robin Küng and Bernd M. Schmidt in cooperation with Robert Göstl from the DWI – Leibniz-Institut für Interaktive Materialien, showcases how the incorporation of force-responsive groups, known as mechanophores, into macromolecular nanosystems has enabled access to previously unseen responsive behaviours as well as sophisticated functions of the resulting structures and advanced materials. The on-demand release or activation of compounds such as reaction catalysts, pharmaceutically active compounds, or monomers for self-healing of a material by an external trigger is a desired and important goal. In this review, we show how sonochemical activation by ultrasound (ultrasound-induced mechanochemistry) and the compression of bulk material can be used to create molecular cargo release systems from polymer-based architectures in solution.

The graphic was created by Robin Küng and shows release of compounds in aqueous environment.

R. Küng, R. Göstl, B. M. Schmidt, Release of Molecular Cargo from Polymer Systems by Mechanochemistry, Chem. Eur. J. 2022, e202103860. Link