Abstract
This paper presents a comprehensive outline of designing diversified stimuli-responsive platforms, putting emphasis on the mechanistic variation of responsiveness. Representative examples and experimental results are given on the development of integrated multifunctional biosensors based on stimuli-responsive lipid bilayers for the (spatial and temporal) control of protein-surface interactions, an area that is expected to benefit largely diagnostic microarrays, biomaterials, regenerative medicine and drug delivery. The experimental results indicate that important limiting factors for the function and application of the stimuli-responsive platforms are the degree of change and the rate at which the change occurs. In many cases the understanding of the underlying mechanisms is still limited and needs to be extended, so that improved, rational design of sophisticated systems can be accessed.
