Fig. 1. Snapshots from all-atom simulations representing (a) the coil-to-globule transition of a PNIPAM 30-mer in a dilute aqueous solution13 (PNIPAM backbone heavy atoms and side chain atoms are displayed in green and white, respectively) and (b) a realistic model of a portion of a hydrated PNIPAM microgel particle14 (PNIPAM backbone heavy atoms, side chains atoms and water molecules are shown in red, white and blue, respectively).