Thermoresponsive Polymers for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Thermoresponsive polymers are a class of “smart” materials that have the ability to respond to a change in temperature; a property that makes them useful materials in a wide range of applications and consequently attracts much scientific interest. This review focuses mainly on the studies published over the last 10 years on the synthesis and use of thermoresponsive polymers for biomedical applications including drug delivery, tissue engineering and gene delivery. A summary of the main applications is given following the different studies on thermoresponsive polymers which are categorized based on their 3-dimensional structure; hydrogels, interpenetrating networks, micelles, crosslinked micelles, polymersomes, films and particles.