Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Smart macroporous hydrogels with a range of optical behavior have been prepared using colloidal crystals as templates. The structural color imprinted in the gel (see Figure and cover) varies with a change in the volume of the gel. It is now possible to build a soft material that displays the various structural colors available to living things.
Takeoka et al. (2003) studied this question.