Precision surface engineering is key to advanced biomaterials. A new platform of PEGylated styrene–maleic acid copolymers for adsorptive surface biofunctionalization is reported. Balanced amphiphilicity renders the copolymers water‐soluble but strongly affine for surfaces. Fine‐tuning of their molecular architecture provides control over adsorptive anchorage onto specific materials—which is why they are referred to as “anchor polymers” (APs)—and over structural characteristics of the adsorbed layers. Conjugatable with an array of bioactives—including cytokine‐complexing glycosaminoglycans, cell‐adhesion‐mediating peptides and antimicrobials—APs can be applied to customize materials for demanding biotechnologies in uniquely versatile, simple, and robust ways. Moreover, homo‐ and heterodisplacement of adsorbed APs provide unprecedented means of in situ alteration and renewal of the functionalized surfaces. The related options are exemplified with proof‐of‐concept experiments of controlled bacterial adhesion, human umbilical vein endothelial cell, and induced pluripotent cell growth on AP‐functionalized surfaces.

Surface Biofunctionalization In article number 2102489, Carsten Werner, Uwe Freudenberg, and co‐workers introduce a set of PEGylated styrene maleic acid(anhydride) copolymers with systematically varied molecular architecture—”anchor polymers”—and demonstrate their potentialities for adsorptive surface biofunctionalization of bulk materials.

While autoregulative adaptation is a common feature of living tissues, only a few feedback‐controlled adaptive biomaterials are available so far. This paper herein reports a new polymer hydrogel platform designed to release anti‐inflammatory molecules in response to the inflammatory activation of human blood. In this system, anti‐inflammatory peptide drugs, targeting either the complement cascade, a complement receptor, or cyclophilin A, are conjugated to the hydrogel by a peptide sequence that is cleaved by elastase released from activated granulocytes. As a proof of concept, the adaptive drug delivery from the gel triggered by activated granulocytes and the effect of the released drug on the respective inflammatory pathways are demonstrated. Adjusting the gel functionalization degree is shown to allow for tuning the drug release profiles to effective doses within a micromolar range. Feedback‐controlled delivery of covalently conjugated drugs from a hydrogel matrix is concluded to provide valuable safety features suitable to equip medical devices with highly active anti‐inflammatory agents without suppressing the general immunosurveillance.

Inflammation‐Controlled Anti‐Inflammatory Hydrogels In article number 2206412, Carsten Werner, Manfred F. Maitz, and co‐workers designed an enzymatically cleavable polymer hydrogel platform for the release of anti‐inflammatory molecules in response to the inflammation status of human blood. Inflammation suppression reduces the release of the trigger enzyme elastase from activated granulocytes and down‐regulates hydrogel cleavage.

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