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Invisible aligners have been widely used in orthodontic treatment but still present issues with plaque formation and oral mucosa abrasion, which can lead to complicated oral diseases. To address these issues, hydrophilic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (polySBMA) coatings with lubricating, antifouling, and antiadhesive properties have been developed on the aligner materials (i.e., polyethylene terephthalate glycol, PETG) via a simple and feasible glycidyl methacrylate (GMA)‐assisted coating strategy. Poly(GMA‐co‐SBMA) is grafted onto the aminated PETG surface via the ring‐opening reaction of GMA (i.e., “grafting to” approach to obtain G‐co‐S coating), or a polySBMA layer is formed on the GMA‐grafted PETG surface via free radical polymerization (i.e., “grafting from” approach to obtain G‐g‐S coating). The G‐co‐S and G‐g‐S coatings significantly reduce the friction coefficient of PETG surface. Protein adsorption, bacterial adhesion, and biofilm formation on the G‐co‐S‐ and G‐g‐S‐coated surfaces are significantly inhibited. The performance of the coatings remains stable after storage in air or artificial saliva for 2 weeks. Both coatings demonstrate good biocompatibility in vitro and is not caused irritation to the oral mucosa of rats in vivo over 2 weeks. This study proposes a promising strategy for the development of invisible aligners with improved performance, which is beneficial for oral health treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart hydrogels responsive to external stimuli are promising for various applications such as soft robotics and smart devices. High mechanical strength and fast response rate are particularly important for the construction of hydrogel actuators. Herein, tough hydrogels with rapid response rates are synthesized using vinyl‐functionalized poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgels as macro‐crosslinkers and N‐isopropylacrylamide as monomers. The compression strength of the obtained PNIPAM hydrogels is up to 7.13 MPa. The response rate of the microgel‐crosslinked hydrogels is significantly enhanced compared with conventional chemically crosslinked PNIPAM hydrogels. The mechanical strength and response rate of hydrogels can be adjusted by varying the proportion of monomers and crosslinkers. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the PNIPAM hydrogels could be tuned by copolymerizing with ionic monomer sodium methacrylate. Thermo‐responsive bilayer hydrogels are fabricated using PINPAM hydrogels with different LCSTs via a layer‐by‐layer method. The thermo‐responsive fast swelling and shrinking properties of the two layers endow the bilayer hydrogel with anisotropic structures and asymmetric response characteristics, allowing the hydrogel to respond rapidly. The bilayer hydrogels are fabricated into clamps to grab small objects and flowers that mimicked the closure of petals, and it shows great application prospects in the field of actuators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Front Cover: In article 2300643, Rong Wang and co‐workers develop a facile way of constructing thermo‐responsive hydrogel actuators based on a poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) microgel cross‐linking strategy. The bilayer hydrogels show enhanced mechanical properties and tunable response rates, making them highly promising for applications of smart actuating devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Front Cover: In article 2300643, Rong Wang and co‐workers develop a facile way of constructing thermo‐responsive hydrogel actuators based on a poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) microgel cross‐linking strategy. The bilayer hydrogels show enhanced mechanical properties and tunable response rates, making them highly promising for applications of smart actuating devices..By Yanyu Yang; Ying Xiao; Xiang Wu; Junjie Deng; Rufang Wei; Ashuang Liu; Haiyang Chai and Rong WangReported by Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author [Extracted from the article]