Smart Drug Release Systems Based on Stimuli-Responsive Polymers

Guangyan      Qing; Minmin      Li; Lijing      Deng; Ziyu      Lv; Peng      Ding; Taolei      Sun

doi:10.2174/13895575113139990062

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive polymers could respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, pH, photo-irradiation, electric field, biomolecules in solution, etc., which further induce reversible transformations in the structures and conformations of polymers, providing an excellent platform for controllable drug release, while the accuracy of drug delivery could obtain obvious improvement in this system. In this review, recent progresses in the drug release systems based on stimuli-responsive polymers are summarized, in which drugs can be released in an intelligent mode with high accuracy and efficiency, while potential damages to normal cells and tissues can also be effectively prevented owing to the unique characteristics of materials. Moreover, we introduce some smart nanoparticles-polymers conjugates and drug release devices, which are especially suitable for the long-term sustained drug release.

Keywords: Smart materials, controllable drug release, targeted drug delivery, responsive polymers, drug release devices.

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