Abstract
Smart polymer is a kind of polymeric materials which can undergo reversible or irreversible changes of their physical properties and/or chemical structure when their external environment changes slightly. The small changes in the external environment can be various types of stimuli such as pH, temperature, ion concentration, light, mechanical force, electricity, magnetism, sound field, and added characteristic substances (ions, bioactive molecules, etc.). Changes in the smart polymer material after stimulation may be a shift in chain conformation, solubility, or self-assembly. The appearance of the smart polymer material can be as solution, gel, self-assembling nanoparticles, (multilayer) film or solid. Due to this specific nature, specific applications can be targeted through the combination of smart materials, such as gene and drug delivery, biological separation, protein purification, coatings industry, petroleum exploration, biofilm science, viscosity modification, colloidal stability, surface modification and water purification and recovery. This chapter introduces the design and characterizations of smart polymers as well as their potential applications in the biomedical field.
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