Scientists have long sought to develop drug therapies that can more precisely diagnose, target and effectively treat life-threatening illness such as cancer, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. One promising approach is the design of morphable nanomaterials that can circulate through the body and provide diagnostic information or release precisely targeted drugs in response to disease-marker enzymes. Thanks to a newly published paper from researchers at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York, Brooklyn College, and Hunter College, scientists now have design guidance that could rapidly advance development of such nanomaterials.