Stimuli-Responsive Polymers for Biological Detection and Delivery.

Responsive polymers with properties designed to interact with their surrounding environment are enabling "smart" design features for custom biomaterials. Numerous applications are being innovated, ranging from diagnostics and imaging to tissue engineering and drug delivery. Herein, I feature a collection of research articles published in ACS Macro Letters that highlight an array of innovative chemical attributes such as pH-triggered hydrolytic degradation, reduction-based release, photomodulation, glucose responsiveness, thermal sensitivity, and membrane permeating peptides. The chemical, physical, mechanical, and morphological properties of polymeric structures can be custom tailored to enhance numerous features such as biological delivery, pharmaceutical potency and safety, disease diagnosis, and antigen/biomaker detection.