Materials Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Polymers, Drug Delivery

The Hu Lab is interested in developing stimuli-responsive smart materials and providing chemistry solutions to global challenges in materials innovation and health. We harness the power of molecular design and synthetic organic chemistry to construct advanced material systems for sensing and drug delivery applications. The two research areas in the Hu group are:

• Stimuli-Responsive Materials: We are interested in designing, synthesizing, and applying novel photoswitches and mechanophores.
• Responsive Nanomedicines: Our group is interested in developing nanomaterials that undergo preprogrammed structure and property changes in response to physical, chemical, and biological stimuli as next-generation drug delivery systems to maximize therapeutic efficacy and safety.

• Hu, X.; Fu, X. "Mechanophore with Force Triggered Chirality Conversion". Provisional Patent App. 63/464,213, May 5, 2023. (Syracuse University)
• Robb, M. J.; Hu, X.; Zeng, T. “Method for Controlled Release Using Mechanical Force”. US11584752B2t, Granted February 21, 2023. (California Institute of Technology)
• Hu, X.; Zhu, S.; Robisson, A.; Qu, M; Ossia, S. “Methods for Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) for In-Situ Formation of High Glass Transition Temperature (Tg) Polymers”. US11,377,580, Granted July 5, 2022. (Schlumberger Technology Corporation)
• Asatekin, A.; Thomas, S. W. III; Kaner, P.; Hu, X. “Two-layer photo-responsive membranes”. US10,603,637, Granted March 31, 2020. (Tufts University)
• Robb, M. J.; Hu, X. “Mechanical Regulation of Photoswitching”. US Patent App. 17/019,107, published March 11, 2021. (California Institute of Technology)
• Luozhong, S.; Yuan, Z.; Jiang, S.; Hu, X.; Bailey, S. "Zwitterionic lipid nanoparticle compositions, and methods of use". US Patent App. 63/129,343, published June 30, 2022. (Cornell)

• Fu, X.; Zhu, B.; Hu, X.* “Force-Triggered Atropisomerization of a Parallel Diarylethene to Its Anti-Parallel Diastereomers”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023. doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c03994
• Hu, X; Zeng, T; Husic, C. C.; Robb, M. J.* “Mechanically Triggered Release of Functionally Diverse Molecular Payloads from Masked 2-Furylcarbinol Derivatives”, ACS Cent. Sci. 2021, 7, 1216-1224. doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.1c00460
• Hu, X; Zeng, T; Husic, C. C.; Robb, M. J.* “Mechanically Triggered Small Molecule Release from a Masked Furfuryl Carbonate”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 15018-15023. doi.org/10.1021/jacs.9b08663
• Hu, X.; McFadden, M. E.; Baber, R. W.; Robb, M. J.* “Mechanochemical Regulation of a Photochemical Reaction”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 14073-14077. doi.org/10.1021/jacs.8b09628
• Hu, X.; Macintosh, E; Simon, M. G.; Staii, C.; Thomas, S. W. III* "Stimuli-Responsive Free-Standing Layer-By-Layer Films", Adv. Mater. 2016, 28, 715–721. doi.org/10.1002/adma.201504219

2019 ACS PMSE Distinguished Poster Nominee

2018 Finalist, ACS Eastman Chemical Student Award in Applied Polymer Science

2016 Graduate Student Research Competition Award, Tufts

2016 Graduate Research Excellence at Tufts Fellowship

2016 Graduate Student Travel Award, Tufts