Temperature Responsive Polymers

Okano, Ta Molecular Design of Temperature-Responsive Polymers as Intelligent Materials. Vol, 110, pp. 179-198. 

Many kinds of nonbiodegradable vinyl-type hydrophilic polymers were also used in combination with aliphatic polyesters to prepare amphiphilic block copolymers. Two typical examples of the vinyl-polymers used are poly(/V-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) [149-152] and poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC) [153]. PNIPAAm is well known as a temperature-responsive polymer and has been used in biomedicine to provide smart materials. Temperature-responsive nanoparticles or polymer micelles could be prepared using PNIPAAm-6-PLA block copolymers [149-152]. PMPC is also a well-known biocompatible polymer that suppresses protein adsorption and platelet adhesion, and has been used as the hydrophilic outer shell of polymer micelles consisting of a block copolymer of PMPC -co-PLA [153]. Many other vinyl-type polymers used for PLA-based amphiphilic block copolymers were also introduced in a recent review [16]. 

It is known [37,38] that conformational and phase transitions of water-soluble temperature-responsive polymers significantly influence the molecular dynamics of water molecules. Therefore, the studies of temperature dependence of the parameters capable of reflecting such mobility are of signifi-... 

Kikuchi, A. and Okano, T. Temperature-responsive polymers as on-off switches for intelligent biointerfaces, in T. Okano, Ed. Biorelated Polymers and Gels, pp. 1-28. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 1998. 

Molecular Design of Temperature-Responsive Polymers as Intelligent Materials... 

---