Dual and multi-stimuli responsive polymers for biomedical applications

2019-02-01
Polymers are materials widely used in medical applications due to their wide variety, ease of processing, high diversity, and cost effectiveness. They can take the place of metals and ceramics in the production of medical devices such as, diagnostic systems, artificial organs, prostheses, micro-, and nano-drug carriers. They can be stimuli-responsive and intelligent if certain functional groups are either present in the main chain or introduced as copolymers, blends, or grafts. The functional groups have a broad spectrum, and their responsiveness can be against environmental stimuli such as temperature, pressure, magnetic field, light, sound, electric field, pH, presence of certain molecules, and ionic strength. Responsive polymers may change their color, electrical conductivity, or shape depending on the environmental conditions. Presence of more than one type of the responsive groups on the same polymer, or a combination of polymers having different responses, achieves “on-demand” response and more control on the behavior of the molecules. They can be used as biosensors, or for diagnosis and therapy purposes. One example is the targeting of the bioactive molecules to a specific tissue where the multifunctional carrier shows its effect at a certain pH, reducing environment, temperature, ionic strength, or any other stimuli.

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Citation Formats
N. Hasırcı, Dual and multi-stimuli responsive polymers for biomedical applications. 2019, p. 278.