Recent Advances in Stimuli-Responsive Polymers for Drug Delivery

Dear Colleagues,

Drug delivery is a technique to deliver the right amount of a drug to the right place at the right time, so as to increase its utilization efficiency and improve the curative effect, while reducing the cost and toxic side effects. The development of effective polymer carriers is key to improving the drug delivery performances.

Currently, the polymers for drug delivery mainly include natural polymers such as gelatin, gum arabic, alginate, albumin, chitosan and starch; semi-synthetic polymers such as cellulose derivatives; and synthetic polymers which can be classified to be organic polymers (e.g., polyethylene glycol, polyester, and polyethylene acetate), inorganic polymers (e.g., silica materials), and organic–inorganic hybrid polymers (e.g., block polymers grafted on silica nanospheres). These polymer carriers can be prepared in various morphological structures (e.g., porous nanoparticles, dendrimers, block polymers, micelles, liposomes, emulsions, capsules, hydrogels), with different functions enabling their application to the delivery of drugs to their targets, either by sustained-release controlled drug delivery or targeted drug delivery.

Targeted drug delivery is a hot topic as well as an important research area in precision medicine. Research in this area is concerned with determining strategies to carry drugs to their target locations (e.g., tumors and infected sites). Two approaches are normally employed, one is passive targeted delivery, referring to the process wherein injected drug particles reach diseased tissues through the vascular system with loopholes such as tumor, infection and inflammation, which is also called enhanced osmotic retention effect; another is active targeted drug delivery, which requires the combination of specific ligands and receptors (e.g., ligand–receptor interaction, antibody–antigen interaction, and lectin–sugar interaction) to reach the target and cause drug release at the same time. Active targeted drug delivery requires that the polymer carriers have the capabilities of specific molecular recognition of target cells, carrying drugs efficiently to their targets, and releasing drugs intelligently. More and more “smart” carriers are needed, particularly multi-stimuli-responsive polymers.

This Special Issue aims to review the state-of-the-art stimuli-responsive polymers for drug delivery in recent years, and to envision their prospects. The topics  of interest include: natural polymers, semi-synthetic polymers, and synthetic polymers that have stimuli-responsive features (e.g., response to pH, temperature change, light, magnetic field, redox, pressure), as well as molecular recognition capabilities based on receptors, antibodies, aptamers, special ligands, molecularly imprinted polymers, etc., enabling them to carry various drugs to their targets actively and to release the drugs intelligently.

Dr. Qianjin Li
Guest Editor

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• drug delivery 
• stimuli-responsive polymers 
• specific molecular recognition 
• biocompatible polymers 
• biodegradable polymers 
• natural polymers 
• synthetic polymers 
• molecularly imprinted polymers