Unlocking the pH-responsive degradability of fumaramic acid derivatives using photoisomerization.

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 multisignal-responsive smart materials in biomedical applications.