ABSTRACT
Abstract ................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................... 14 2.2 Designing Polymers as Building Blocks for Engineered
Smart Materials .............................................................................. 16 2.3 Preparation and Applications of Self-Organized Polymer
Systems with Complex Architectures ............................................ 31 2.4 Requirements and Limitations for Using Polymer
Materials in Biomedical Applications ............................................ 60 2.5 Concluding Remarks ...................................................................... 62 Keywords ................................................................................................ 63 References ............................................................................................... 63
IONEL ADRIAN DINU1*, MARIA VALENTINA DINU1, MIHAI LOMORA2, CORNELIA G. PALIVAN2, and WOLFGANG MEIER2
1“Mihai Dima” Department of Functional Polymers, “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Aleea Grigore Ghica Voda 41A, 700487 Iasi, Romania 2Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 80, Basel 4056, Switzerland *Corresponding author. E-mail: adinu@icmpp.ro
ABSTRACT
In this chapter, a broad overview on recently published literature concerning the design, preparation, and applications of polymer-based smart systems and hybrid structured materials with complex architectures (micelles, vesicles, capsules, gels, and so on) and sizes ranging from nanometers toward several micrometers scale is provided. Aiming the fabrication of smart materials with enhanced properties for applications in biomedicine, the spatial organization and selective confinement of various molecules within the ordered domains of different polymer architectures were also considered. Moreover, the stimuli-responsiveness of these self-organized structures induces drastic changes in their morphology or properties when a specific stimulus is applied, leading to “on demand” release of the cargo or triggering a distinct in situ signal/reaction. Accordingly, results from the most relevant studies are briefly reviewed, more attention being paid to those polymeric systems with potential application in biomedical field, ranging from drug delivery to mimics of natural organelles or other cellular compartments.
