Responsive Polymer Brush Design and Emerging Applications for Nanotheranostics

Abstract

Responsive polymer brushes are a category of polymer brushes that are capable of conformational and chemical changes in response to external stimuli. They offer unique opportunities for the control of bio−nano interactions due to the precise control of chemical and structural parameters such as the brush thickness, density, chemistry, and architecture. The design of responsive brushes at the surface of nanomaterials for theranostic applications has developed rapidly. These coatings can be generated from a very broad range of nanomaterials, without compromising their physical, photophysical, and imaging properties. Although the use of responsive brushes for nanotheranostic remains in its early stages, in this review, the aim is to present how the systems developed to date can be combined to control sensing, imaging, and controlled delivery of therapeutics. The recent developments for such design and associated methods for the synthesis of responsive brushes are discussed. The responsive behaviors of homo polymer brushes and brushes with more complex architectures are briefly reviewed, before the applications of responsive brushes as smart delivery systems are discussed. Finally, the recent work is summarized on the use of responsive polymer brushes as novel biosensors and diagnostic tools for the detection of analytes and biomarkers.

FRET‐Integrated Polymer Brushes for Spatially Resolved Sensing of Changes in Polymer Conformation

“… [12] The response can be tailored by precise control over chemical and structural parameters, such as the brush thickness, density and architecture. [13] Importantly, by harnessing this power of phase transitions it is possible to extrapolate signals corresponding to stimuli, thereby allowing for surface‐based sensing of environmental conditions. For planar polymer brush systems, most conventional analyses of polymer brush conformation rely on ex situ methods such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), spectroscopic ellipsometry, and/or quartz crystal microbalance.…”

Polymeric Nanoparticles for Mitochondria Targeting Mediated Robust Cancer Therapy

“…An assortment of various polymer-based nanocarriers have been designed to load and deliver different therapeutic agents in cancer therapies (Karabasz et al, 2020). These "smart" polymeric nanomedicines are capable of protecting the encapsulated drugs during blood circulation and releasing the drugs instantly under certain stimulus (Li et al, 2021), and a variety of targeting ligands could also be anchored on the surface of these polymeric nanoparticles to actively achieve specific targeted sites, resulting in robust cancer treatment with minimized side effects (Kamaly et al, 2012).…”

Research progress in self-oscillating polymer brushes

“…Among them, polymer brushes are a focus of research interest. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] A polymer brush, dened as a thin polymer coating, is a collection of polymer chains, which are sufficiently intensive and surface-tethered, conferring a powerful tool for controlling interface properties. 24 In particular, the repulsive interaction of chains can only be eradicated by the chain extensions perpendicular to the substrate surface.…”

“…[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] A polymer brush, dened as a thin polymer coating, is a collection of polymer chains, which are sufficiently intensive and surface-tethered, conferring a powerful tool for controlling interface properties. 24 In particular, the repulsive interaction of chains can only be eradicated by the chain extensions perpendicular to the substrate surface. 23 The research on polymer brushes emerged as early as the 1950s; graing polymers onto colloidal particles was found to be a highly efficient method of preventing occulation.…”