8 - Responsive block copolymers for drug delivery applications. Part 2: Exogenous stimuli-responsive drug-release systems

Abstract

The development of novel polymeric nanomaterials and nanotechnologies has inspired researchers who are striving to design biocompatible and efficient drug delivery systems for various therapeutic applications. The recent research focus in this field is the improvement of targetability and site-specific triggered release of drugs from stimuli-responsive block copolymer nanocarriers. The advent of modern macromolecular synthesis tools such as living radical polymerizations and various “click” chemistry strategies were simultaneously expedited the synthesis of various exogenous stimuli-responsive block copolymers. Recently, plenty of nanosized drug delivery vehicles were engineered from exogenous stimuli-responsive block copolymers to release their therapeutic cargo into pathological sites according to specific extracellular stimuli-triggers. Exogenous stimuli-triggers such as temperature, light, magnetic field, and ultrasound have developed into theranostic applications for personalized medicine use due to their unique characteristics. In this chapter, we comprehensively describe the significant progresses of exogenous stimuli-responsive nanocarriers that have been extensively investigated in drug delivery and theranostics within the past few years.