Stimuli-Responsive Cationic Hydrogels in Drug Delivery Applications.

Autor: Deen GR; Soft Materials Laboratory, Natural Sciences and Science Education AG, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1-Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, Singapore. roshan.gulam@nie.edu.sg., Loh XJ; Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, 2-Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138634, Singapore. lohxj@imre.a-star.edu.sg.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Gels (Basel, Switzerland) [Gels] 2018 Feb 01; Vol. 4 (1). Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Feb 01.
DOI: 10.3390/gels4010013
Abstrakt: Stimuli-responsive, smart, intelligent, or environmentally sensitive polymers respond to changes in external stimuli such as pH, temperature, ionic strength, surfactants, pressure, light, biomolecules, and magnetic field. These materials are developed in various network architectures such as block copolymers, crosslinked hydrogels, nanogels, inter-penetrating networks, and dendrimers. Stimuli-responsive cationic polymers and hydrogels are an interesting class of "smart" materials that respond reversibly to changes in external pH. These materials have the ability to swell extensively in solutions of acidic pH and de-swell or shrink in solutions of alkaline pH. This reversible swelling-shrinking property brought about by changes in external pH conditions makes these materials useful in a wide range of applications such as drug delivery systems and chemical sensors. This article focuses mainly on the properties of these interesting materials and their applications in drug delivery systems.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Databáze: MEDLINE