Smart Polymer Gels: Properties, Synthesis, and Applications

Smart hydrogels are characterized by abrupt structural and reversible volume phase transitions in response to external stimuli, including temperature, pH, light, electrical and magnetic fields, and bio/chemicals. The flexible methods of synthesis can also allow the preparation of smart hydrogels that can be responsive to various stimuli. Smart hydrogels have created great interest in the scientific community not only for their striking behavior under external stimuli but also for their potential applications in very varied fields, such as industrial or biomedical. These new materials have been used as drug delivery systems, actuators, sensors, tissue-engineering solutions, or injectable biomaterials. This chapter summarizes the design and synthesis of the most commonly used smart hydrogels and recent progress in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields.