Stimuli-responsive polymersomes for drug delivery applications

Abstract

There is a considerable research interest in polymers for drug delivery systems in the medical and pharmaceutical field. Several polymeric materials have been investigated in the development of nanostructures for drug delivery to increase therapeutic advantages while minimizing side effects. The cutting-edge and emerging research focuses involve the design and development of stimuli-responsive materials. In particular, polymersomes are artificial polymeric vesicles that have received significant attention due to their entangled architecture. Smart polymersomes can recognize some environmental stimuli and release the drug-loaded in dose-, spatial-, and temporal-controlled manners. This chapter aims to cover the recent advances in biological-stimuli-responsive and external-stimuli-responsive polymersomes. Aspects related to the mechanism involved in the drug release and some examples of their main biomedical applications will be highlighted. Also, the use of stimuli-responsive polymersomes for cancer therapy will be stressed.