Temperature and pH stimuli-responsive polymers and their applications in controlled and selfregulated drug delivery.
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Date
2012-06
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Abstract
Controlled drug delivery is useful because it allows to obtain better drug product
effectiveness, reliability and safety. Interest in stimuli-responsive polymers is steadily gaining
increasing momentum especially in the fields of controlled and self-regulated drug delivery. Stimuliresponsive
or “smart“ polymers are macromolecules that display a significant physiochemical
change in response to small changes in their environment such as temperature, pH, light, magnetic
field, ionic factors, etc. The changes are reversible, and therefore, the smart polymers are capable of
returning to its initial state as soon as the trigger is removed. They have become one important class
of polymers and their applications have been increasing significantly in the last three decades. Smart
polymers have very promising applications in the biomedical field as delivery systems of therapeutic
agents, tissue engineering scaffolds, cell culture supports, bioseparation devices, etc. The versatility
and untapped potential of smart polymeric materials makes them one of the most promising
interfaces of chemistry and biology.
Description
Keywords
Hydrogels, Smart polymers, Stimuli-responsive polymers, Poly (N-isopoprylacrilamide), Poloxamers
Citation
Almeida Hugo, Amaral Maria Helena, Lobao Paulo. Temperature and pH stimuli-responsive polymers and their applications in controlled and selfregulated drug delivery. Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science. 2012 June; 2(6): 1-10.