抄録
The macro- or nanometer-ordered modification of material surfaces has attracted much attention in the material
sciences, because this method is very practical for fabricating functional material surfaces without sacrificing the
physical properties of the materials. To achieve this purpose, the physical or chemical methods, as well as their combination, have been extensively studied. As one of the techniques which build the functional surface, preparation of
thin films using polymer gels is mentioned. Polymer gels are soft materials that swell as they absorb large amounts
of solvents. These unique materials have applications in both technological and biomedical fields. From a biomedical or biotechnological point of view, the surfaces of gels proffer the potential to create bio-inert (e.g. nonactivated/non-adhesive biomolecules) devices due to their water-swollen structures, which are similar to bio-interfaces such as proteins, cells, and tissues. In particular, the stimuli-responsive gels, which undergo volume phase
transitions in response to physical or chemical stimuli in the outer environment, are very interesting materials.
These intelligent materials are quite suitable for designing devices such as separation, sensing, actuator, and controlled drug release. Accordingly, it is potentially valuable to fabricate material surfaces composed of stimuli-responsive thin gel films with a nanometer-ordered. This paper focuses on stimuli-responsive thin gel films and a report and
usefulness of the recent years about that are reported.
