abstract |
A nanodevice has a containment vessel defining a storage chamber therein and defining at least one port to provide access to and from said storage chamber, and a stopper assembly attached to the containment vessel. The stopper assembly has a blocking unit arranged proximate the at least one port and has a structure suitable to substantially prevent material after being loaded into the storage chamber from being released while the blocking unit is arranged in a blocking configuration. The stopper assembly is responsive to the presence of a predetermined stimulus such that the blocking unit is released in the presence of the predetermined stimulus to allow the material to be released from the storage chamber. The predetermined stimulus is a predetermined catalytic activity that is suitable to at least one of cleave, hydrolyze, oxidize, or reduce a portion of the stopper assembly, and the nanodevice has a maximum dimension of about 1 μm. |