Smart Polymers: Stimulus-Responsive Properties and Their Biomedical Applications
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart and Functional Polymers".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 8
Special Issue Editors
Interests: degradation of polymers; inorganic/metal/polymer components; identification and composition; surface properties; in vitro tests for drug release; in vitro stability tests of biomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: polymeric biomaterials; biodegradable biomaterials; pH- and temperature-sensitive hydrogels; polymeric systems for controlled drug release; antimicrobial polymeric biomaterials; polymeric wound dressings; polymeric scaffolds for tissue regeneration; biological properties of polymeric biomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Polymer science has expanded its interest toward the development of smart materials capable of stimuli-responsive behavior. These polymers have an ability to detect specific clues (charge, pH, heat, light, ultrasound, magnetic /electric filed, etc.) and accordingly respond by changing their specific physicochemical properties, acting as excellent stimuli-responsive materials in several fields of engineering. Beyond straightforward applications such as electronics and sensors of such polymers, scientists have been exploring stimuli-responsive polymers for a range of other applications, including target drug delivery and advanced tools for regeneration and tissue engineering. A wide range of polymers, including electroactive polymers—poly[3,4-(ethylenedioxy)thiophene] (PEDOT), polypyrrole (PPy), and polyaniline (PANi); piezoelectric polymers—polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), poly-l-lactide (PLLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs); pH-sensitive polymers—chitosan, hyaluronic acid, alginic acid, and dextran; and thermosensitive polymers—poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(acrylamide), photosensitive-poly(acrylic acid), polyimide, polyamide, poly(ethyl acrylate), and poly(ethylene oxide), are able to respond to one or more external physical or chemical stimuli. Their applicability in bioscience depends on their processability, mechanical properties, biodegradability and biocompatibility requirements. Advanced formulations are obtained by combining the polymers into designs which are able to respond to many stimuli. Interesting solutions are also modifications of these polymers with piezoelectric, conductive, magnetic nanomaterials in the form of composites, fillers or dopants.
This Special Issue, titled "Smart Polymers: Stimulus-Responsive Properties and their Biomedical Applications", will focus on the synthesis, characterization, applications and processing of these biomaterials. We are also very interested in the safety and life cycle of these polymers and products made out of them.
Scientists are kindly invited to contribute original research articles, review articles and communications. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Synthesis, processing and characterization of smart biomaterials;
- Piezoelectric biomaterials;
- Electroactive biomaterials;
- Thermo- and pH-sensitive biomaterials;
- Mechanically sensitive biomaterials;
- Glucose-sensitive biomaterials;
- Photosensitive biomaterials;
- Magnetically sensitive biomaterials.
Dr. Marija Vukomanović
Dr. Marija M. Babić Radić
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- smart polymers
- stimuli-responsive polymers
- biomedical applications
- drug delivery
- tissue engineering
- wound healing
- electrostimulation
- piezostimulation
- mechanostimulation
- photostimulation
- thermostimulation
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