Updates on Stimuli-Responsive Polymers: Synthesis Approaches and Features

Stimuli-responsive polymers (SRPs) are a type of smart materials which can demonstrate noticeable changes in their characteristics as a response to their exposure to some environmental stimuli variations. The environmental stimuli could be physical (e.g., electric field, ionic strength, magnetic field, mechanical stress, pressure, radiation, and temperature), chemical (e.g., specific ions and chemical agents), or biochemical (e.g., enzyme substrates and ligands). Recently, SRPs were used in numerous applications including diagnostics, drug delivery systems, biosensors, regenerative medicine, and stem cells. This chapter illustrates the different categories of SRPs and highlights some of their synthesis approaches, unique features, major development, their different structures, and classifications.