Issue 31, 2020

Self-immolative polymers in biomedicine

Abstract

Self-immolative polymers (SIPs) have been under development for over a decade, and efforts for their application followed shortly after their inception. One main area of application of SIPs is biomedicine, where they are used to construct devices and biosensors, develop new biotechnology abilities, or directly interface with the living system. Where traditional polymers are stable at room temperature, SIPs undergo rapid degradation when a labile capping group is removed, allowing SIPs to offer a highly unusual degradation profile compared with traditional polymers. This review summarizes the recent efforts to leverage the unique properties of SIPs for biomedical purposes, which are categorized into sensors, drug delivery, and biotechnology. By doing so, this review aims to stimulate future studies in this rapidly growing and promising area.

Graphical abstract: Self-immolative polymers in biomedicine

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
29 Ebr. 2020
Accepted
12 Mezh. 2020
First published
15 Mezh. 2020

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2020,8, 6697-6709

Author version available

Self-immolative polymers in biomedicine

Y. Xiao, X. Tan, Z. Li and K. Zhang, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2020, 8, 6697 DOI: 10.1039/D0TB01119C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, 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 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