Polymers, Biotechnology and Medical Applications

AbstractThe applications of smart polymer in biotechnology and medicine are discussed in this article. The highly nonlinear response of smart polymers to small changes in the external medium is of critical importance for the successful functioning of a system. Most applications of smart polymers in biotechnology and medicine include biorecognition and/or biocatalysis, which take place principally in aqueous solutions. Thus, only water‐compatible smart polymers are considered; smart polymers in organic solvents or water/organic solvent mixtures are beyond the scope of the article. The systems discussed in the article are based on either soluble/insoluble transition of smart polymers in aqueous solution or on the conformational transition of macromolecules physically attached or chemically grafted to the surface. Systems that have covalently cross‐linked networks of macromolecules, called smart hydrogels, are not considered.One could define smart polymers used in biotechnology and medicine as macromolecules that undergo fast and reversible changes from hydrophilic to hydrophobic microstructure triggered by small changes in their environments. These microscopic changes are apparent at the macroscopic level as precipitate formation in solutions of smart polymers or changes in the wettability of a surface to which a smart polymer is grafted. The changes are reversible, and the system returns to its initial state when the trigger is removed.