Seeing inside smart gels: Scientists capture dynamic behavior under stress Advances in materials science have led to the development of "smart materials," whose properties do not remain static but change in response to external stimuli. One such material is poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), or PNIPAM, a polymer gel that alters its solubility with temperature. The polymer contains hydrophilic amide groups and hydrophobic isopropyl groups.
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-....smart-gels-scientist