Issue 2, 2023

Thermoresponsive polymers with LCST transition: synthesis, characterization, and their impact on biomedical frontiers

Abstract

Advances in thermoresponsive materials have significantly impacted many biomedical fields. The unique behavior of reversible phase transition close to the physiological temperatures makes these types of materials a great candidate for a wide variety of biomedical applications including bioimaging, biosensing, injectables, smart surfaces, adhesives, biomanufacturing, and tissue engineering. Thermoresponsive behavior, mainly lower critical solution temperature (LCST) can be easily tuned by shifting the balance between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity (e.g., by using comonomers or changing end groups) and modifying the molecular weight and architecture of the polymer. Hence, synthetic and characterization tools are critical in tailoring and precisely determining these properties. This review aims to show the full scope of the journey of thermoresponsive polymers from benchtop to potential applications. We especially intend to emphasize the effects of the structural heterogeneity of polymers on thermal transition and highlight the modern characterization techniques used to study thermoresponsive behavior. A better understanding of these structural effects and benchtop tools can help us design and implement more advanced materials for future applications in public health.

Graphical abstract: Thermoresponsive polymers with LCST transition: synthesis, characterization, and their impact on biomedical frontiers

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
15 Jul 2023
Accepted
24 Aug 2023
First published
29 Aug 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Appl. Polym., 2023,1, 158-189

Thermoresponsive polymers with LCST transition: synthesis, characterization, and their impact on biomedical frontiers

Y. Yuan, K. Raheja, N. B. Milbrandt, S. Beilharz, S. Tene, S. Oshabaheebwa, U. A. Gurkan, A. C. S. Samia and M. Karayilan, RSC Appl. Polym., 2023, 1, 158 DOI: 10.1039/D3LP00114H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements