Light-Induced pH-Responsive Degradation of Fumaramic Acid Derivatives

Abstract

. Fumaramic acid derivatives can be converted into their cis-isomer maleamic acid derivatives under UV illumination, and these maleamic acid derivatives show pH-responsive degradability at acidic pH only after the preceding photoisomerization. The rate of the tandem photoisomerization-degradation of fumaramic acid derivatives can be finely controlled by changing the substituents on the double bond. Photoisomerization-based unlocking of the pH-responsive degradability of fumaramic acid derivatives has strong potential for the development of multi-signal-responsive smart materials in biomedical applications.