Pharmaceutics & Novel Drug Delivery Systems

Smart Polymers for Drug Delivery

Smart polymers, also known as stimuli-responsive or intelligent polymers, are materials that can change their properties in response to external stimuli such as pH, temperature, light, or biochemical signals. These polymers have gained significant interest in drug delivery systems due to their ability to provide targeted and controlled release of drugs. Smart polymers can undergo reversible changes in their physicochemical properties in response to specific stimuli. For example, they can swell or shrink, change their solubility, or undergo conformational changes, which can be utilized to control drug release. These polymers change their properties in response to changes in pH. They are often used in drug delivery systems for targeting specific regions of the gastrointestinal tract, where pH levels vary. Examples include poly(acrylic acid) and chitosan. These polymers exhibit a reversible phase transition in response to changes in temperature. They can be used to design drug delivery systems that release drugs at specific body temperatures.