Recently, we observe a tendency of engineering biomimetic nanostructured thin films which combine a wide range of functional properties. These engineered materials mimic high selectivity of interactions and ability to adapt to the changing environment observed in living systems. Future materials, which could recognize specific signals and respond in an intelligent way, will be vitally important for biomedical and technical applications, cloth and constructions. It is obvious that this kind of intelligent materials could be approached through a hierarchical organization of engineered functional building blocks. Owing to their unique ability to undergo large, reversible volumetric changes in response to small amounts of external chemical and physical stimuli, responsive hydrogels are promising building blocks of stimuli-responsive systems. The self-regulating properties of responsive hydrogels combined with the energy of chemical reactions and a thin-film structure makes them attractive for miniaturized (bio)sensors, autonomous drug delivery systems, microfluidic valves and flow switches, "smart" cell-culture supports, regulation of the rate of electrochemical reactions, and many other advanced applications.
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