Nanobuffering of pH-Responsive Polymers: A Known but Sometimes Overlooked Phenomenon and Its Biological Applications

With recent advances in polymer chemistry, materials science, and nanotechnology, pH-responsive polymers have a significant impact in a number of diverse fields. Fundamental studies of these polymers are thus highly desirable as they may lead to new insights into the rational design of pH-responsive polymers with specific effects. In this Perspective, we focus on the nanobuffering of pH-responsive polymers (NBPRP). Although researchers have known of such buffering effects for more than a century, for example, in the context of the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, modern synthesis and analysis routes now enable us to analyze these effects on the nanometer scale. In this way, the NBPRP phenomenon was explicitly defined and described by Gauthier and colleagues in the February issue of ACS Nano. Here, we highlight several potential areas in which the NBPRP could enable innovative classes of biological applications. We expect deeper mechanistic understanding of nanobuffering effects induced by pH-responsive polymers to have a significant impact on the future development and applications of these polymers.